WATCH: International Space Station soars into moon's shadow during total solar eclipse
The International Space Station (ISS)’s Expedition 71 crew soared into the moon’s shadow during the total solar eclipse on April 8.
The ISS on Instagram shared a video showing the moon’s shadow visible from the space station as it orbited into the path of the eclipse over southeastern Canada.
A video of the totality of the eclipse from Houlton in Maine was also flashed on the screen.
“They’re actually seeing not one but two views of the eclipse,” the voice-over in the video says.
In a blog post, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said the space station experienced a totality of about 90% during its flyover period.
NASA added that the views of the solar eclipse itself—and the moon orbiting directly between the sun and the Earth—were only accessible through a pair of windows in the space station’s Roscosmos segment, which may not have been accessible due to cargo constraints.
Expedition 71 crew members also worked on cargo transfers, spacesuit maintenance, and microgravity research.
The eclipse, an astronomical phenomenon in which the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, completely blocking the face of the sun, crossed North America and passed over Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
The Philippines didn’t see the total solar eclipse since it was already midnight.
