Looking down from the Cupola observatory on the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took this timelapse of a cloudless Italy and Egypt from 400 km above Earth. <br /><br />Circling Earth at speeds of 28 800 km/h, the 3500 km flight took Samantha less than eight minutes. Images from a Space Station camera were joined together to create this video and make the flight seem even faster.<br /><br />The astronauts on the Space Station spend as much time as possible on science. During her 40-hour working week Samantha runs many experiments from Italy’s ASI space agency and ESA, and takes part in even more from scientists all over the world. <br />Samantha is living and working on board the International Space Station as part of the six-strong Expedition 42 and 43 crew. Follow her Futura mission at http://samanthacristoforetti.esa.int.
