Cities by the Bay

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers took this photograph on August 3, 2025, as the International Space Station passed 260 miles above California. It shows the San Francisco Bay Area, with the water framed by San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose along with the suburbs that fill the surrounding land. The bright red and gold patch on the right side stands out sharply against the muted browns and grays of the developed terrain and hills.

Following the coastline reveals how it bends and folds, packed with cities and threaded by roads that link one shore to the next. The pale surface of the bay pulls the eye across the whole image, tying the scattered neighborhoods together into a single view. Astronauts aboard the station have produced hundreds of thousands of images like this one, capturing storms as they unfold and volcanic eruptions in real time, and helping ground teams program automated Earth-sensing equipment.

Now in its third decade of continuous human presence, the space station works as a microgravity laboratory for research across many fields. The knowledge gathered there will help guide long-duration trips such as the Artemis missions and future human journeys to Mars.