“On March 8th activists celebrate International Women’s Day, which dates back to the early 20th century and has been observed by the United Nations since 1975. In the run-up to the event, Reuters photographers in countries around the globe took a series of portraits of women and their daughters. They asked each mother what her profession was, at what age she had finished education, and what she wanted her daughter to become when she grew up. They also asked each daughter at what age she would finish education and what she wanted to do in the future. The series of images offers an insight into the lives of women and girls around the world”. – Reuters. (Photo by Feisal Omar/Reuters)

Al-Shamiyah Front fighters inspect a new locally-made cannon named “Borkan” (Volcano) as it was being launched towards forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad located in Aleppo artillery school, March 7, 2015. The “Borkan” is made out of four tubes attached to a loader, which can fire four shells at a time, and have a range of three kilometers (1.86 miles). (Photo by Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters)

Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain sprays champagne at a grid girl as he celebrates his victory on the podium after the Chinese F1 Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, April 12, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

A doctor performs surgery on an injured man with a part of an aluminium alloy fence through his chest after a car accident in Zhumadian, Henan province, China, September 15, 2014. The doctor managed to surgically remove the piece. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

“Theyyam”. Preparation for the Theyyam performance in the surroundings of Kasaragod city. Theyyam is a popular ritual dance form of North Kerala, particularly in Kannur and Kasargod districts. The Theyyam represents a mythological, divine or heroic character. Make up of Theyyams is done by specialist. There are different types of face painting for which primarily and secondary colours are used. Therefore it is essential that the makeup man should have perfect knowledge of primary and secondary colour combinations. Sometimes, it takes several hours to paint each face. Photo location: Kasaragod, India. (Photo and caption by Rafal Ziejewski/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Farmer Zhang Xianping rides his pig "Big Precious" during an interview with the media, in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China, November 2, 2015. Zhang, a pig breeder, instead of killing it, decided to keep the two-year-old "Big Precious" as pet when its weight reached 600 kg, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

A visitor poses for a photo with a Crayon Shin-chan model during an exhibition at Joy City in Beijing May 5, 2015. The exhibition, which showcased fifty models of the Japanese cartoon character in different poses and expressions, will run from April 18 to June 22. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

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.