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.

A masquerader from the Paramin Blue Devils parades before judges during the traditional mas competition held by the National Carnival Commission at Victoria Square, in the capital Port-of-Spain, February 12, 2015. (Photo by Andrea De Silva/Reuters)

Students on their way home from school play in a river which has risen due to recent seasonal rains, in a remote village in Panca, Aceh province on January 22, 2021. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

Senior Buddhist monk Lobsang Tayang sits outside the Amarbayasgalant Monastery in the Baruunburen district, Selenge province, Mongolia, April 26, 2018. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

View of the Villarrica volcano taken from Pucon, some 800 kilometres south of Santiago, showing signs of activity on December 06, 2017. (Photo by Christian Miranda/AFP Photo)

Behaviour: Mammals category. Giant Gathering by Tony Wu, USA. Dozens of sperm whales mingled noisily off Sri Lanka’s northeast coast, stacked as far down as Tony could see. This was a congregation of dozens of social units, like a gathering of the clans. Aggregations like this could be a critical part of the whales’ rich social lives but are rarely reported. Some two thirds of the population was wiped out before commercial whaling was banned in 1986. This kind of major gathering could be “a sign that populations are recovering”, says Tony. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017)

A wide-angle view shows the ascent of the shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986. In the seconds after ignition, the rocket engines' hot blast began the process of destruction. (Photo by NASA)

An animal rights activist washes herself with red dye to mimic blood during a protest against the testing of shampoo on animals in Barcelona. April 24, 2012. (Photo by Raul Albaledo/AFP Photo)