What do national parks look like from space? NASA astronaut shares ‘epic’ photos

A NASA astronaut went to space and decided she needed a new hobby.

Astronaut Megan McArthur stays on the International Space Station. She’s more than 200 miles above Earth, traveling five miles every second, she said in an Aug. 6 video interview.

That’s when she taught herself to spot the national parks from space. Then she learned how to take even better photos of them.

“You can absolutely spot the characteristic features from space,” McArthur told the National Park Service. “Some are very obvious, like the Grand Canyon. Some are less obvious.”

To help her discover more national parks when she’s moving so quickly, McArthur challenges herself to find the large, recognizable features in a region.

When she passes by again, that’s when the true challenge begins. Even for someone who’s been an astronaut for 21 years and spent 13 days in space before going on the International Space Station, it’s not an easy task to spot a landscape from above Earth.

“As we go back over those areas in ensuing weeks, (I) learn to spot the features that can direct me to really find some of the smaller areas,” she said.

McArthur told the National Park Service she visited several parks before heading to space. When her parents took her to Yosemite when she was a teenager, she knew the outdoors would become a big part of her life.

Seeing the iconic landscapes from space is just as remarkable, she said. It makes her excited to explore more in the future and recall her past experiences.

“These are amazing, breathtaking places,” McArthur said. “The more I see them up here, I have those memories.”

The National Park Service shared the photos McArthur captured of some of the West’s most popular spots. From the electric blue color of Crater Lake to the view of the Half Dome at Yosemite, parkgoers were shocked to see the views.

“Super epic,” one person said. “Loving the perspective!”

McArthur plans to share more photos as she gets even better at spotting the vast national parks. There are more than 63 national parks in the U.S., and more than 84 million acres of land is part of the National Park Service.

For now, she’s focusing on the parks she can quickly pick out as the Space Station zooms by. She was able to spot parks in California and the Southwest, including Joshua Tree, Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks.

McArthur will share those photos in the coming weeks, she said. For now, she’s enjoying challenging herself to spot more and more national parks.

“It’s a compelling and engaging hobby,” McArthur said. “I love thinking about the parks and hopefully planning some more trips for the future when I get home.”

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 1:38 PM with the headline "What do national parks look like from space? NASA astronaut shares ‘epic’ photos."