Skip to main content

See the best photos from the International Space Station this year

As we reach the end of the year, NASA has shared some of the best pictures from the International Space Station (ISS) showing the research and other work being done there.

Some of the most striking photos are of the astronauts growing and tending to crops of vegetables, using two main pieces of equipment. The Veggie experiment grows primarily leafy vegetables like pak choi, as seen in this photo of NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins with his crop of Extra Dwarf Pak Choi:

NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins enjoys the aroma of Extra Dwarf Pak Choi growing aboard the space station.
NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins enjoys the aroma of Extra Dwarf Pak Choi growing aboard the space station. NASA

The other piece of equipment used on the ISS to grow food is the Advanced Plant Habitat, in which the astronauts grew chili peppers for the first time this year. This impressive feat was the longest plant experiment on the ISS so far, lasting for a total of 137 days. The chili peppers and the habitat they grow in can be seen here, being admired by NASA astronaut Kayla Barron:

NASA astronaut Kayla Barron floats in front of the second crop of chiles in the Plant Habitat-04 experiment.
NASA astronaut Kayla Barron floats in front of the second crop of chilies in the Plant Habitat-04 experiment. NASA

Another big event on the ISS this year was the installation of new solar arrays to replace the aging solar arrays which currently provide power to the station, some of which are 20 years old. The new ISS roll-out solar arrays (iROSA) are smaller than the old arrays but provide more power, and the process of upgrading from the old arrays to the new ones was started with a series of spacewalks this year.

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough carries the second ISS roll out solar array (iROSA) toward the space station’s Port-6 truss structure where he and fellow spacewalker Pesquet would install it
NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough carries the second ISS roll out solar array (iROSA) toward the space station’s Port-6 truss structure where he and fellow spacewalker Pesquet would install it. NASA

Another fun story from the ISS was the use of a Microsoft HoloLens headset to assist in the upgrading of the station’s Cold Atom Lab. NASA astronaut Megan McArthur used the headset to test whether augmented reality could be a useful way to assist astronauts in maintaining and upgrading station hardware.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur wears the specialized Sidekick headset and tests using augmented reality aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur wears the specialized Sidekick headset and tests using augmented reality aboard the International Space Station. NASA

Finally, a stunning image of the station itself was captured from a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule as the Crew-2 astronauts — NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, the European Space Agency’s Thomas Pesquet, and Akihiko Hoshide from Japan’s space agency — departed the station in November:

The International Space Station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly-around of the orbiting lab that took place as Crew-2 left station on Nov. 8, 2021.
The International Space Station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly-around of the orbiting lab that took place as Crew-2 left station on Nov. 8, 2021. NASA

For lots more photos from the ISS and information about what’s happened there this year, you can head to NASA’s website.

Editors' Recommendations

Georgina Torbet
Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…
Space station crew investigating yet another coolant leak
The Soyuz MS-18 crew ship is pictured docked to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.

A Soyuz spaceship docked to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module in 2021. NASA / NASA

The International Space Station (ISS) is reportedly dealing with yet another coolant leak.

Read more
NASA’s record-breaking astronaut arrives home safely
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio shortly after returning to Earth in September 2023.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio shortly after returning to Earth after becoming the first American astronaut to spend a full year in orbit. NASA

Frank Rubio has arrived home safely after spending 371 days in space -- a record for a NASA astronaut.

Read more
NASA is seeking help to crash the space station at the end of its life
The International Space Station.

The International Space Station (ISS) is set to be decommissioned in 2031, at which point it will have spent three decades orbiting Earth.

But NASA doesn’t want to leave the 356-foot-long (109-meter) facility drifting in orbit as it would add to the growing amount of hazardous space junk already in low-Earth orbit and would risk creating even more if it collided with another object.

Read more