Japanese astronaut publishes brilliant photo of Makkah from outer space

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Japanese astronaut publishes brilliant photo of Makkah from outer space

Japanese astronaut publishes brilliant photo of Makkah from outer space

The photo was posted on Twitter and showed how Makkah looks from outer space. (Social Media)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi (R) and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins wave to family members after walking out of the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft on launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on November 15, 2020. (AFP)

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30 Apr 2021 11:04:40 GMT9

Arab News Japan

DUBAI: Japanese astronaut Noguchi Sōichi on Thursday posted a picture of the city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia from space, gaining a lot of attention on Earth.

The photo was posted on Twitter and showed how Makkah looks from outer space.

Holly #Mecca #SaudiArabia #メッカ #サウジアラビア pic.twitter.com/v0DX9xwsrV
— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口　聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) April 29, 2021

The tweet has so far gained over 1000 retweets and over 6000 likes as of April 30. Many social media users were impressed with the picture and Noguchi’s photography skills.

The first Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri quoted the tweet, captioning it: “Holy Makkah.”

مكة المكرمة https://t.co/WqEAs2l02X
— Hazzaa AlMansoori (@astro_hazzaa) April 30, 2021

One social media user based in Jeddah said: “This is how Makkah looks from space. Shot from the International Space Station.”

هكذا تبدو "مكة المكرمة" من القضاء
تصوير من #محطة_الفضاء_الدولية https://t.co/Pm1gxMMBo0
— عبدالرزاق البلوشي (@abaloush77) April 30, 2021

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut was also recently awarded the Guinness World Record for the longest time between spacewalks: 15 years and 214 days.

The interval falls between Noguchi’s August 3, 2005, spacewalk and his spacewalk in March 5, 2021.

The astronaut is currently serving abroad on the ISS for a six-month mission expected to end this month. The expedition 64 mission started in November 2020, as Noguchi rode into space on the SpaceX Dragon 2.