• Tagged astronauts, Endeavour, International Space Station, ISS, NASA, people, photos, pics, space, space shuttle, transportation

Today NASA astronauts completed their final spacewalk, the last ever for Endeavour. During the 16-day mission, Endeavour and its crew completed NASA’s part in the construction of the International Space Station. This was the 36th shuttle mission to the ISS and this was the last spacewalkers that Endeavor will ever carry to space. The crew members for space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-134 mission are Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and Mission Specialists Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori. Sadly, we cannot count upon NASA’s astronauts to take any more wowza photos for us. This is the 25th and final flight of Endeavour before the shuttle is retired along with the rest of NASA’s orbiter fleet later in 2011. Thank you NASA, Endeavour STS-134 mission astronauts and ISS astronauts for your bravery and amazing photographs. We love these pics! [46 Photos]

• Tagged 350 Earth, art, art exhibit, bizarre, climate change, enivronment, photos, pics, pictures, Satellite Image, space

350 Earth is the world’s first art exhibit large enough to be seen from space! 350 EARTH is a global project to put art and creativity at the center of the growing movement to stop the climate crisis. 350.org launched the 350 EARTH project in November 2010 in the lead up to the UN Climate Meetings in Cancun, Mexico, coordinating over a dozen major public art pieces large enough to be seen from space. 350.org is building a global movement to solve the climate crisis. We love these pics and this project! [21 Pics]

• Tagged Earth's Bulls-Eye, Eye of Africa, geology, nature, pics, pictures, Richat Structure, Sahara, space

Since the beginning of space missions, the Earth’s bulls-eye caught the interest of astronauts in the otherwise featureless Sahara Desert. Over the years, it has become a landmark for astronauts. At first, the circular pattern was thought to have been a meteorite impact, but now the 31 mile wide bulls-eye, called the Richat Structure, is believed to be uplifted rock, a circular anticline, laid bare by erosion. Some people call this bulls-eye in the Sahara the “Eye of Africa.” [14 pics]

• Tagged ALMA, ESO, La Silla, Milky Way, nature, Paranal, photos, pics, pictures, space, stargazing, stars, VLT

When you were a kid, did you ever wish upon a star? Stargazing always seems to help put problems into perspective. Americans usually know more about and love NASA, but the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is cool too. The ESO operates the Paranal Observatory, located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile at an altitude of 8,645 feet. The largest telescope on Paranal is called the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and it shoots a super cool laser into outer space. These incredible pictures were all taken at the ESO, featuring gazillions of stars in the majestic Milky Way, the VLT, Cerro Armazones, La Silla Observatory, or ALMA antennas. We love these pics! [35 Photos]

• Tagged Aurora, Aurora Australis, Aurora Borealis, environment, ISS, NASA, nature, Northern lights, photos, pics, pictures, polar auroras, Southern lights, space, stars, winter

We’ve collected 24 stunning auroras; either Auroras Borealis – the northern lights – or Aurora Australis – the southern lights. We love these pics!
[24 Photos]