Isabella James Science 09.29.2022 21:Sep PM EDT

ISS Astronaut Snaps Photos of Hurricane Ian as It Hits Florida

Hurricane Ian has been downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday, but photos taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the sheer size of it as it hit Florida.

An Expedition 68 astronaut shared the photos on Twitter, which include a look inside the eye of Hurricane Ian.

Hurricane Ian has delayed a couple of space-related launches meant to take place in Florida, including SpaceX's Crew-5 astronaut mission. The hurricane has also caused the Artemis 1 moon rocket to be taken off its launch pad.

ISS Astronaut Shares Photos of Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian was classified as a Category 4 hurricane when it first hit Florida. As previously mentioned, it has since been classified as a tropical storm.

One of the astronauts aboard the ISS, Bob Hines, has shared photos taken of the Hurricane Ian from space on his Twitter account. Hines notes in his tweet that Hurricane Ian "covers the entire Florida peninsula." The Mississippi River as well as New Orleans are visible on the left in some of the photos.

You can view the photos below:

This storm is HUGE! That’s the Mississippi River and New Orleans on the left. It covers the entire Florida peninsula! We could see through the eye just as it was making landfall. Praying for the safety of everyone dealing with #HurricaneIan. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/sZZE9gugea
— Bob “Farmer” Hines (@Astro_FarmerBob) September 28, 2022

Hurricane Ian Delays SpaceX Crew-5 Mission Launch

Hurricane Ian has caused certain space-related launches to be relayed as it slammed into Florida on Wednesday. One of the missions that has been delayed is SpaceX's Crew-5 mission.

According to a report by Space.com, SpaceX as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have decided to postpone the launch of the mission to October 5.

This is not the first time that Hurricane Ian has caused a delay in the mission's launch. While the initial target date to launch the Crew-5 mission was October 3, the arrival of the hurricane caused the date to be moved a day later.

The Dragon spacecraft will carry four astronauts and will be launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The four astronauts will live in the ISS for five months.

Two of the Crew-5 mission astronauts are making history once they are launched to space. NASA astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann will become the first Native American to reach space, while Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina will become the first Russian to fly with SpaceX to the ISS.

The other astronauts part of the mission are Josh Cassada and Koichi Wakata.

Hurricane Ian Causes Artemis 1 Moon Rocket to be Pulled Off Launch Pad, Delays Other SpaceX Launches

A separate report by Space.com also notes that NASA has made the decision to remove the Artemis 1 moon rocket from its launch pad. The moon rocket is now safe at the Vehicle Assembly Building.

SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have also made the decision to the delay other launches that are meant to happen in Florida. These launches may be happen next week at the earliest.