# @europeanspaceagency on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DJOi1JSsmfJ
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35582153-europeanspaceagency-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/b782962a47.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-05-04T09:50:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** J.L.Lopez (@xandler80) — https://gondola.cc/xandler80

## Caption

A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away… 🌌
Science fiction met scientific reality, and the Force has been with us ever since.

Happy Star Wars Day from Earth and beyond! We love how space sagas like @StarWars ignite curiosity and inspire generations of explorers, engineers, and dreamers. From icy landscapes like Hoth to droids training astronauts, here’s a galactic selection of moments from our missions that might just make you do a double take.

1. A glowing laser over Antarctica? No superweapon—just our LIDAR science in action, tracking changes in Earth’s atmosphere from Concordia research station.

2. With sub-zero temps and months of darkness, Concordia could easily pass for Hoth—minus the tauntauns.

3. What looks like a TIE fighter squadron is really the @iss zipping past the Moon, captured by an Earth-based astrophotographer.

4. A hyperlapse from the Cupola of the International Space Station might just be the best view inside a TIE fighter cockpit.

5. Hyperspace? Almost! Watch Earth and the stars blur into light in a timelapse filmed from the Space Station.

6. A floating droid on the ISS? It’s part of the SPHERES experiment, not Jedi training (but we see the resemblance).

7. A double-sunned desert world? Nope—that’s the Sahara from orbit, looking uncannily like Tatooine.

8. That’s no moon—it is a moon! Mimas, one of Saturn’s icy satellites, sports a crater that makes it look just like the Death Star.

9. And of course, the Dark Side makes an appearance: here’s @astro_alex_esa dressed as Darth Vader for Halloween aboard the International Space Station.

Share your favourite space x Star Wars moment with us in the comments 👇

#MayThe4thBeWithYou #StarWarsDay

📸 @europeanspaceagency / IPEV/ @italiantartide – S. Thoolen
📹 ESA
📸 @jmanteconan
📸 ESA/@NASA– @thom_astro
📸 NASA/ @nasajpl /@spacescienceinstitute
📹 ESA/NASA - A.Gerst

## Stats

- **Views:** 145,618
- **Likes:** 68,770
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 233

## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ESA - European Space Agency | @europeanspaceagency | https://gondola.cc/europeanspaceagency | Government Organization |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Producer |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Editor |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Social Media Manager |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Publisher |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Copywriter |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Community Manager |

## Tags

maythe4thbewithyou, starwarsday

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