There is something strangely appealing about the set of pictures created by Sandro Giordano in a series “In Extremis (Bodies With No Regret)”. Could it be the absurdity of the situation? Or the fact that our brain tries to make up some bizarre story to justify what is happening in the pictures? Of course it is impossible to explain why a pair of tennis players ended up lying flat on the ground with a pack of bananas hanging on the net, even if we forget about the tennis racket lodged in the neck of one of the players. Nevertheless, it is fun to recreate these scenes in your mind just seconds before the tragedy took place. (Photo by Sandro Giordano)

A woman holds up the Chinese national flag as people gather to watch the the launch of the Long March 5B rocket carrying China's Tianhe space station core module from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan Province, China, 29 April 2021. China launched into space the core module of its space station, marking the beginning of a series of launch missions to complete the space station by the end of next year. (Photo by Matjaz Tancic/EPA/EFE)

Fabrice Monteiro travelled to the most polluted places in Africa and created terrifying characters who roamed their midst dressed in eerie debris. They are spirits, he says, on a mission to make humans change their ways. Informed by Africa’s environmental problems, Fabrice Monteiro’s photographs aim to highlight urgent ecological issues all over the world. His series “The Prophecy” is on show at Photo Basel 2017 until 18 June. (Photo by Fabrice Monteiro/Photo Basel 2017/Mariane Ibrahim Gallery/The Guardian)

These adorable rat portraits were taken by a committed photographer who’s made it her mission to remove the stigma attached to the creatures. Diane Ozdamar’s vibrant images feature rodents cutely cuddling flowers, eating fruit, playing with bubbles, and lovingly interacting with each other. The 32-year-old photographer, who lives in Montreal, Canada, shot her «Fancy Rats» series over a number of years. (Photo by Diane Ozdamar/Caters News)

This photographer has made it her mission to change people’s perception of pigeons – focusing on some of the most beautiful of the more than 300 species found globally. Rather than focus on the gray, nondescript birds people usually associate with the term “pigeon”, Leila Jeffreys has instead decided to snap the more vibrant varieties. Whether it be the wompoo pigeon, with its deep purple breast and green wings, or the rose-crowned fruit dove, with its pink head, Jeffreys, 46, gives the birds the same attention she would give a human model. (Photo by Leila Jefferies/Caters News Agency)

The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 21 mission began on July 21 as an international crew of aquanauts splashed down to the undersea Aquarius Reef Base, located 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The NEEMO 21 crew will perform research both inside and outside the habitat during a 16-day simulated space mission. During simulated spacewalks carried out underwater, they will evaluate tools and mission operation techniques that could be used in future space missions, including journeys to Mars. (Photo by Karl Shreeves/NASA)

A Russian air force technician reports to a pilot that a bomber is ready for a combat mission at Hemeimeem air base in Syria Wednesday January 20, 2016. Russian warplanes have flown over 5,700 combat missions since Moscow launched its air campaign in Syria on September 30, 2015. (Photo by Vladimir Isachenkov/AP Photo)

Micro pigs have become so popular in England that they are almost impossible to get hold of. They are going for as much as $1,1000 apiece. (Photo by Geoff Robinson)