--- title: "Check Out This Moon-Shaped Ice Crystal on the Space Station’s Window" description: "A Russian cosmonaut has shared an amazing photo of an ice formation on the windows of the International Space Station that looks a whole lot like the moon." date: "2022-05-26" modified: "2022-05-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/photo-ice-crystal-space-station" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "cosmonauts" - "earth" - "international space station" - "moon" --- # Check Out This Moon-Shaped Ice Crystal on the Space Station’s Window ![A Russian cosmonaut has shared an amazing photo of an ice formation on the windows of the International Space Station that looks a whole lot like the moon.]() *\Image: Sergei Korsakov\* A Russian cosmonaut has shared an absolutely gorgeous photo of a Moon-shaped ice formation on the window of the International Space Station — and although we have questions, we sure do love to see it. On Twitter and Telegram, Cosmonaut Sergei Korsakov posted photos of a circular frost pattern on the interior of a window aboard the ISS, replete with our Pale Blue Dot down below. https://twitter.com/SergKorsakov/status/1528670081676464130 The photo is intriguing because Futurism couldn't find any other documentation in the photography record or academic literature about ice crystals forming on the windows of spacecraft (if you're familiar with any work on that subject, though, [please drop us a line]().) Neither NASA nor the Russian space agency Roscosmos replied to questions about the formation. One plausible hypothesis is that the phenomenon is similar to the way [car windows frost over](). Experts [have described]() the ISS's windows as a "tremendous heat leak," and at least [some are heated](). An astrophysicist and spacecraft expert told us he wasn't familiar with ice crystals on the interior of spacecraft, but speculated that the "water is on the interior edge of the window and was put there or condensed from the astro\[naut\]'s breath or something." Korsakov seemed to imply on Telegram that the pattern persisted on the window for at least a full day. It "looks like winter is still going on here" he quipped in Russian on May 15. The next day, he posted another photo of what appears to be the same pattern, writing that "the adventures of the frosty space pattern continue!" "It's funny," read the translated message. "The frost has melted, but the condensation pattern remains." ![]() *Images via screenshot/Korsakov's Telegram.* **More on ISS cosmonauts:** *[Things Apparently Got Awkward During Movie Night on the Space Station]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()