Twenty-three years after the tragic 9/11 attacks, NASA paid tribute to the victims and first responders by sharing poignant images taken from space. Astronaut Frank Culbertson, aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on September 11, 2001, captured the moment as the station flew over New York City. The image shows smoke billowing from Manhattan, following the attack on the World Trade Center by hijacked planes.

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See NASA's Post

NASA shared these images to honour the heroes and remember those lost. In a caption, NASA noted, “Astronaut Frank Culbertson was aboard the ISS on Sept. 11, 2001. He took this photo of New York City, and many others, from the station on the day of the 9/11 attacks. We continue to honour the heroes, the survivors, and those who lost their lives.”

What astronaut Culbertson said while sharing the picture from ISS

In an open letter the next day, Culbertson, the only American on the ISS during the attack, expressed his emotions: "It’s difficult to describe being the only American off the planet at a time like this. It’s horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point. The contrast between a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on Earth and watching life destroyed by such terrible acts is jolting, no matter who you are. The knowledge that everything will change before we land is unsettling."

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The 9/11 Attacks: A Day That Changed the World

On September 11, 2001, the world was shocked as four coordinated suicide attacks were carried out by the terrorist group Al Qaeda in the United States. Nineteen militants hijacked four planes, crashing two into New York City’s World Trade Center towers, leading to their catastrophic collapse. Another plane struck the Pentagon in Virginia, while a fourth, likely targeting Washington, D.C., was brought down in Pennsylvania after passengers bravely fought back.

The attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives, injured thousands more, and caused immense economic and infrastructural damage. The events of that day sparked the War on Terror and the subsequent War in Afghanistan, forever altering the global landscape.

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