Japanese astronaut shares glowing image of Abu Dhabi at night from space

City lights of the UAE capital were captured in the shot

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata captured an image of Abu Dhabi from the International Space Station on January 31, 2023. Photo: Koichi Wakata Twitter

Part of Abu Dhabi captured on May 29, 2020, by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites. Courtesy: ESA

Abu Dhabi's Maqta, Mussafah and Sheikh Zayed bridges captured from space. Courtesy: ESA 

The Abu Dhabi International Airport from space. Courtesy: ESA 

Image of an Abu Dhabi island captured on January 27, 2019. Courtesy: ESA 

The Ferrari World Abu Dhabi as captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites. Courtesy: ESA 

A Japanese astronaut has shared an image of Abu Dhabi from space that shows striking views of the UAE's capital at night.

Koichi Wakata took the shot on Monday night from the International Space Station, a science laboratory orbiting about 400km above Earth.

The astronaut has been on the station since October 5 and will return to Earth in March.

“Hello, Abu Dhabi! Nice view the city at night from the ISS!” he tweeted.

The image shows the capital sparkling during the night, with urban areas and coastlines clearly visible.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are popular spots for astronauts to capture because of their distinctive coastlines and landmarks.

Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Ferrari World are among astronauts’ favourites while they are on the space station.

The Palm Jumeirah is also one of the most photographed landmarks from space.

Mr Wakata is a member of the Crew-5 mission by Nasa and SpaceX.

He has been an astronaut with Japan’s space agency Jaxa for more than 26 years and flew on his first mission in 1996 on a Space Shuttle.

He was the ISS commander for the last two months of the Expedition 39, which took place in 2013.

The next crew launch by Nasa and SpaceX will include UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, who will launch on February 26.

He will spend six months on the space station and will be taking lots of pictures of Earth during his mission.

Stunning views of UAE landmarks from space - in pictures