Astronaut Tweets Photo of the Outer Banks from Outer Space

Christina H. Koch, a graduate of N.C. State University, tweeted a photo of coastal North Carolina from the International Space Station yesterday, saying “it took my breath away as it came into focus.”

Koch, who considers Jacksonville her hometown, was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2013. She is currently a part of the Expedition 59 and 60 crew that launched to the International Space Station in March 2019. She will remain orbiting Earth until February 2020, making her trek the longest single spaceflight by a woman.

Koch wrote that the ocean first inspired her passion to explore, igniting her “fascination with things that make me feel small.”

It took my breath away as it came into focus. My first glimpse of coastal North Carolina from space. It’s a special thing to see from above the place where you grew up–the ocean that first inspired my fascination with things that make me feel small & planted the seed to explore. pic.twitter.com/OZoqiOVtRR

— Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) April 22, 2019