Argentina's towering, snow-capped Andes Mountains and turquoise lake waters are stunning from above in this new image captured from space.
What is it?
This image captured by Meir from aboard the International Space Station shows the natural wonder of Argentina.
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The Andes Mountains and the surrounding Lake Argentino are located in Los Glaciares National Park, in Argentina's Santa Cruz Province. This photograph, captured on May 6, 2026, shows the mountains covered in snow as clouds loom above the chilly landscape. This is no surprise, as the Andes are a high-altitude range and Argentina is located in the Southern Hemisphere, which is heading toward winter as those of us in the Northern Hemisphere prepare for summer sun.
The space station was orbiting 269 miles (433 kilometers) above Earth, specifically above South America's Patagonia region, when this photograph was taken.
Why is it incredible?
This is a shot you might expect to get from a lifelong professional photographer. But it was actually taken by an astronaut. And while astronauts are generally incredibly capable and talented, NASA's astronauts aren't amazing photographers by accident.
Recently, it came to light that NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts received serious photography training from the Rochester Institute of Technology's photographic sciences program so they could better chronicle their historic moon mission. But this isn't the first time that astronauts have received photography training. In fact, photography training is a part of NASA astronaut training program for all current astronauts.
While this skill allows the astronauts to capture beautiful moments like this still of Argentina, it can also be a powerful tool for science. Everything from Earth images to snapshots inside the space station can be incredibly helpful in scientific investigations.
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Chelsea GohdContent ManagerChelsea Gohd served as a Senior Writer for Space.com from 2018 to 2022 before returning in 2026, covering everything from climate change to planetary science and human spaceflight in both articles and on-camera in videos. With a M.S. in Biology, Chelsea has written and worked for institutions including NASA JPL, the American Museum of Natural History, Scientific American, Discover Magazine Blog, Astronomy Magazine, and Live Science. When not writing, editing or filming something space-y, Gohd is writing music and performing as Foxanne, even launching a song to space in 2021 with Inspiration4. You can follow her online @chelsea.gohd and @foxanne.music
