Nichole “Vapor” Ayers

Hello Milan! If you guys haven’t seen the lightning sequence @AstroAnnimal posted a couple weeks ago, you should go check it out! Shots like these take quite a bit of planning and timing. This video is a sequence of still pictures taken at 120 frames per second. We have such a…

We have to be our own plumbers, electricians, contractors, dentists, phlebotomists, and even ultrasound techs up here! @Astro_Onishi and I recently did a routine venous thromboembolism (VTE) scan of the jugular vein. While in microgravity aboard the @Space_Station, our blood…

Our Ax-4 crewmates made it safely aboard the @Space_Station today! It was a pleasure and an honor to monitor their approach and work the hatch opening. I also got a couple good photos as they caught up and approached from below the station! Welcome Peggy, Shux, Suave, and…

We flew over Hurricane Erick this morning (last night for those on Earth), and I caught some of the lightning in the storm. I shoot these at 120 frames per second, and this bolt of lightning stuck around for over 40 frames! In these pictures, you can see the clear bolt outline,…

Sometimes we see lightning strikes that illuminate an entire city at once. This is Singapore last night, and that was a huge thunderstorm. It’s hard to believe, but these pictures were taken all in the span of 1/40 of a second!

I got to install some hardware into our Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) this week! This is the Ring-Sheared Drop-IBP-2 experiment that studies the behavior of protein fluids in microgravity and tests computer models to predict that fluid’s behavior. In microgravity, we can…

I love sunrises in space just as much as I do on Earth. Just look at the cloud heights and depth out on the Earth’s limb.

While I’m not a huge fan of running on Earth, I have come to enjoy running in space! Did you know we exercise every day up here? We actually call it a countermeasure, because without the force of gravity, your bones, muscles, and other systems start to atrophy. It amazes me how…

From the @Space_Station, our hearts go out to the friends and family of Marc Garneau. Our colleagues at @csa_asc have lost a pioneering astronaut and remarkable leader. Ad Astra.

I love looking out the side window of the cupola on the @Space_Station. This particular view is looking starboard toward Antarctica to catch the aurora — and look at the star movement! I’ve seen a lot of reds and greens in the aurora, but this one had some purple hues, as well.…

I noticed smoke over the Northern U.S. and Canada a few days ago, and it took me a little while to understand what it was. From our perspective, it almost looks like a differently colored cloud formation. The brown hue to the clouds and the fact that they overlapped the white…

M+51: Teamwork makes the dream work. Oftentimes, a single task will be broken up into stages that are each completed by a different crew member, or sometimes as pairs. This week we had an unexpected maintenance task of repairing a critical component of the Thermal Amine…

The Sun has been pretty active over the last week, which means some phenomenal auroras! The geomagnetic storm that lasted through this weekend did not disappoint. Our current orbit takes us right by the Southern Lights at night. Here are a few of my favorites!