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.

These spectacular landscapes may look like something from another planet – but they are in fact colorful salt ponds which stretch for miles. Despite being better known for tech companies and expensive property – San Francisco, California is also home to this vibrant quilt of color spanning the South Bay Area. From eerie green pools to gothic shades of red the surreal landscapes are caused by the organisms or micro-algae living within them. Photo: Aerial view of the salt ponds in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Cris Benton/Caters News)

The underwater fashion photos featured in the May 2014 Sun Magazine were taken by Sun photographer Lloyd Fox in a pool at the home of Mary Kay and Chuck Nabit. Styling was provided by Sun reporter John-John Williams IV, and the art director for the shoot was Sun design editor Leeann Adams. Photo: The Sun magazine's under water fashion shoot with resort style clothes, March 25, 2014. (Photo by Lloyd Fox/Sun Photographer)

Architects Christophe Berdaguer and Marie Péjus get scary with this sculptural,bogey-inspired arts center in France. Situated behind the severe Synagogue de Delme, the center's design transforms an old house, which previously served as a prison, a school, and most recently a funeral home. The new intervention draws inspiration from the latter, cloaking the structure in a white veil of molded concrete that creates a "living body" which expands into the surrounding areas of the house.

Inspired by high school architecture class where he was assigned to create simple paper models using cut paper manilla folders, San Francisco-based designer Luca Iaconi-Stewart went home to begin construction on an extremely ambitious project: a 1:60 scale reproduction of a Boeing 777 using some of the techniques he learned in class. That was in 2008, when Iaconi-Stewart was just a junior in high school.

A car buff came home to find his prized motor looking a like a dog's dinner after his pet pooch chewed through the £80,000 Aston Martin.
Luce, a four-year-old border collie spaniel cross, waited until builder Royston Grimstead had left for work before she started chomping her way through the DB9 Volante's wheel arch, doing £3,000 worth of damage.

Spectators in Moscow were treated to the site of humorously designed makeshift aircraft plunging into the Muskova River during the Red Bull Flugtag Moscow 2011 competition. 38 teams took part at the Flugtag – which means “flying day” – a competition in which teams in fancy dress attempt to pilot human-powered, home-made flying machines off a six-meter-high platform into water.

Photo: A makeshift aircraft plummets into the Moskva River during the Red Bull Flugtag Moscow 2011 competition. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)