WYOMING — Ahead of its 105th birthday this month, the National Park Service released photos of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks taken from NASA’s International Space Station.
They also spoke with NASA Astronaut and veteran of Space Shuttle mission STS-12, Megan McArthur, about the experience of seeing parks from 250 miles above Earth.
During the interview, McArthur floated midair on the International Space Station and sported a “Protect Our National Parks” T-shirt. She described how she’s spotted and captured pictures of Grand Canyon, Zion and other national parks across the country.
“I first noticed Zion just because my eyes were drawn to the incredible pattern that that area makes from 250 miles up,” she said in the interview. “I took all the pictures and then tried to figure out what it was and realized, ‘Oh, my God, that’s Zion from space,’ and it was absolutely amazing.”
Some national parks are big enough that they’re easy to spot, like the Grand Canyon, she said. Others she’s learned to spot by identifying the urban areas surrounding them.
Check out the photos below.
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