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Rabat – A photograph of Casablanca taken from space by French astronaut Thomas Pesquet is currently going viral on social media.
Thomas Pesquet is currently on a mission in the International Space Station (ISS).
ISS is a space station positioned in low earth orbit, permanently occupied by an international space crew, dedicated towards scientific research outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
Since his arrival on the ISS on April 24, the astronaut continues to share photographs of space on his social media networks.
“The ISS always flies from west to east, so Casablanca is one of the first lights that greet us, after a night flight over the North Atlantic,” wrote Thomas Pesquet alongside his picture on Twitter.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”fr” dir=”ltr”>Casablanca ! ?? L’ISS vole toujours d’ouest en est – Casa est donc une de 1e lueurs qui nous accueillent, après un survol nocturne de l’Atlantique nord <a href=”https://t.co/9bL9n3iGVB”>https://t.co/9bL9n3iGVB</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/MissionAlpha?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#MissionAlpha</a> <a href=”https://t.co/wUpMNCavot”>pic.twitter.com/wUpMNCavot</a></p>— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Thom_astro/status/1419752809310863360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
The response to the photo was overwhelming. Moroccans across the world expressed their nostalgia and love for Morocco’s industrial city.
This sentiment was especially echoed among diaspora members, who were “surprisingly touched and moved” by the photo.
Casablanca is a city that is constantly praised for being an important inspiration to Moroccan artists.
The city distinguishes itself by its constantly bustling streets, vibrant cultural scenes, and iconic monuments.
The city is able to represent Moroccan life as a microcosm in all its contradictions, experiences, and diversity to many of its residents.
From above, the spatial shot reveals a Casablanca few get to see, lighting up the northern reaches of the African continent after being shrouded in darkness for seemingly endless time.
As part of Mission Alpha, Thomas Pesquet concluded his third spacewalk in late June, following the successful installation of a new solar panel aboard the International Space Station.
A NASA calculation says 33 hours were spent in space during the fifth spacewalk outside the orbital station.
