The Sugar Plum Fairy, Katherine Free, left, dances with the dog, Pig, during the Birmingham's Ballet “Mutt-cracker”, a rendition of the famous ballet “The Nutcracker”, in Birmingham, Alabama, December 8, 2016. (Photo by Brynn Anderson/AP Photo)

German police officers take pictures as fireworks explode next to the Quadriga sculpture atop the Brandenburg gate during New Year celebrations in Berlin, Germany, January 1, 2017. (Photo by Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

A performer dressed as Empress Huang of the China's Forbidden City takes part in a musical performance at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur on January 22, 2017 as part of the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations marking the Year of the Rooster. (Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP Photo)

Animal rights activists, including musician Kris Reichert, center, hold up signs with writing in Italian reading; “Leather: a lethal look” and “I wouldn't wear animal skin even if I were dead” as they stage a demonstration in front of Milan's Duomo gothic cathedral, Italy, Wednesday, September 20, 2017. Milan Fashion Week previews kick off Wednesday with Gucci, leading up to the awards on Sunday night. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha (R) and Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana take part in the funeral procession for the late Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej in Bangkok on October 26, 2017 A sea of black- clad mourners massed across Bangkok' s historic heart early on October 26 as funeral rituals began for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a revered monarch whose passing after a seven- decade reign has left Thailand bereft of its only unifying figure. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Private Harold L. Langhofer edges into the ball-turret, March 9, 1943. Curled in this position, he can turn the turret so that it fires in any direction. The turret can also be swung around so that the hatch opens into the plane, and the gunner can crawl into it while the Flying Fortress is in motion. (Photo by AP Photo)

Despite any political differences between the United States and Russia, the space agencies of the two countries continue their cooperative work in Earth's orbit, aboard the International Space Station. Apart from the research being done in microgravity, ISS crew members continue to send back amazing images of our home world, photographed from low Earth orbit. Gathered here are recent images of Earth from aboard the ISS, and from a handful of other NASA satellites.

People carry drinks at 80s Bar in Damascus, Syria, March 11, 2016. In Damascus's Old City, just a mile from the battered frontline between government and rebel-held territory, young Syrians smoke, drink beer or soft drinks, and talk about anything but the war. The revival of activity in this once-vibrant quarter is part of efforts to project an air of normality in the Syrian capital, even as the five-year-old war that has killed more than 250,000 people and created 5 million refugees continues to rage nearby. (Photo by Omar Sanadiki/Reuters)