Bob CollinsInternational Space Station astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti came through for us in a big way today, snapping a photograph of the Twin Cities, while tweeting a shout out to its suburbs — well, one suburb anyway.
Hallo #StPaul and #Minneapolis! I also can see Oakdale, where I went to school for one year as an exchange student! pic.twitter.com/wTfHijN6zC
— Sam Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) May 10, 2015
Cristoforetti, described by ABC News as “everyone’s favorite Star Trek loving, espresso-sipping Italian astronaut,” returns to Earth on Thursday.
Here’s the annotated version of her photo (click image for larger version).
By the way, that’s a fine depiction of how Lake Elmo has been able to hold suburban sprawl at bay. By this time next year — if a similar photo is taken from space — a substantial part of those brown areas will be housing.
