Astronaut films Lunar New Year fireworks from space station

Astronaut captures Lunar New Year fireworks from space

NASA astronaut Chris Williams has shared a video of Lunar New Year fireworks exploding over Beijing, captured from the International Space Station. The footage, taken on the night of February 17, shows the pyrotechnics as a twinkling, static-like display from 250 miles above Earth.

Williams posted the time-lapse on X, writing, "Happy Year of the Horse." He noted he was "fortunate to be looking out of the Cupola" as the station passed over the Chinese capital.

A detailed view of Earth from orbit

The video provides a spectacularly detailed view of the Beijing-Tianjin metropolitan area. The complex networks of highways and bright urban centers are clearly visible from the station's vantage point in low Earth orbit.

Meanwhile, aboard China's Tiangong Space Station, taikonauts celebrated by decorating their outpost and sharing a music video. The video, titled "Let the five-star red flag fly high in space," was partially filmed on the station.

Spacecraft visible in the shot

The wide-angle shot from the ISS cupola also captures several visiting spacecraft docked to the station. These vehicles are critical for crew rotations and resupply missions.

• To the right, a circular solar panel belongs to the Northrop Grumman Cygnus NG-23 cargo craft, which launched in September 2025 with 11,000 pounds of supplies.
• To the left is the MS-28 Soyuz spacecraft. Its problematic launch in November 2024 damaged the only crew-capable pad at Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome.
• Peeking in at the bottom left is the Russian Prichal docking module, installed in 2021 to provide additional ports.

Crew preparations for return to Earth

The MS-28 Soyuz is the ride home for its three-person crew. The spacecraft carried NASA's Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev to the station.

That crew is scheduled to depart the orbital lab and return to Earth this summer. Their return will mark the end of a months-long expedition living and working aboard the International Space Station.