German astronaut shares stunning photos of New Zealand from the International Space Station

Alexander Gerst, who works for the European Space Agency, posted incredible images of New Zealand's South Island. Photo / Alexander Gerst, ESA

A German astronaut has captured amazing photos of New Zealand from the International Space Station.

Alexander Gerst, who works for the European Space Agency, posted incredible images of New Zealand's South Island, including a picturesque view of the Southern Alps, on Facebook.

The astronaut has a close connection with our beautiful country as he studied a master's degree in earth sciences at Victoria University of Wellington from 2001 to 2003. Photo / Alexander Gerst, ESA

The astronaut has a close connection with our beautiful country as he studied for his master's degree in earth sciences at Victoria University in Wellington from 2001 to 2003.

While researching his master's thesis, he developed a volcano-monitoring technique that could improve forecasts of volcanic eruptions, which was published in Science Magazine.

A picturesque view of the Southern Alps. Photo / Alexander Gerst, ESA

"It was in this fabulous country that I first learned what it means to travel beyond my horizons and how to see the world with open eyes," Gerst wrote in the Facebook post.

It was in this fabulous country that I first learned what it means to travel beyond my horizons and how to see the world...

Posted by Alexander Gerst on Wednesday, 7 November 2018

The astronaut has previously captured stunning photos from New Zealand, including Mt Ruapehu where he spent a lot of his time studying volcanoes.

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I spent a lot of time on Mt Ruapehu when I studied volcanoes at @vicuniwgtn Climbing it many times with seismometers and truck batteries on my back, I learnt about its character by listening to its earthquakes. A small piece of my heart and soul are still there in New Zealand. / Ich habe sehr viel Zeit auf dem majestätischen Mt. Ruapehu verbracht, als ich in Neuseeland Vulkane studiert habe. Ich habe ihn unzählige Male mit Seismometern und LKW-Batterien auf meinem Rücken bestiegen, um ihn zu verstehen, und ein Teil meines Herzens ist immer noch in dort. . Credit: ESA/A.Gerst, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO . #NewZealand #NZ #MtRuapehu #Volcano #Wellington #VicUniWgtn #Tongariro #Ngauruhoe #EarthViews #ESA #ISS #Space

A post shared by Alexander Gerst (@astro_alex_esa) on Oct 23, 2018 at 12:16am PDT

Gerst's Instagram is full of incredible images from around the world, including Chuquicamata copper mine in the Atacama Desert, and Great Salt Lake in Utah.

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These big holes influenced human history quite a bit. One of them is the Chuquicamata copper mine in the Atacama Desert, Among the biggest on that planet down there. / Diese riesigen Löcher haben die menschliche Geschichte wesentlich beeinflusst. Eines der beiden ist die Chuquicamata-Kupfermine in der Atacama-Wüste, eine der größten auf dem Planeten. . Credit: ESA/NASA-A.Gerst . #Chuquicamata #CopperMine #EarthViews #AtacamaDesert #ESA #ISS #SeenFromSpace #Astronaut

A post shared by Alexander Gerst (@astro_alex_esa) on Oct 6, 2018 at 3:01am PDT

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Interestingly, seen from space, the Great Salt Lake in Utah is one of the most obvious landscapes influenced by humans. / Welche Landschaften sind vom Weltraum aus, als von Menschen beeinflusst, zu erkennen? Interessanterweise ist der Große Salzsee in Utah eine der offensichtlichsten. Credit: ESA/A.Gerst, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO . #Utah #SaltLake #HumanInfluence #EarthViews #SeenFromSpace #Horizons #ESA #ISS

A post shared by Alexander Gerst (@astro_alex_esa) on Oct 23, 2018 at 11:13am PDT

In August, the astronaut made headlines when he plugged a hole in the International Space Station with his finger.

During a live feed from the ISS, Nasa's ground control said: "Right now Alex has got his finger on that hole and I don't think that's the best remedy for it."

Nasa confirmed the problem, saying it consisted of a "minute pressure leak" and that the crew was in the process of repairing the damage.