An ISS astronaut discovers NASA Windows floppy disks in space

The international space station comes celebrated his 20 yearsAlexander Gerst, European Space Agency astronaut and former resident of the ISS, has discovered a little reminder of this long history: a folder filled with old floppy disks.

In case you are too young to remember, floppy disks were once a major force in computer storage. Now they are an obsolete symbol of computer nostalgia. Gerst tweeted a photo of his fun discovery on Tuesday.

Gerst says he found a locker on the ISS that probably had not been opened for quite some time. One of the diskettes is labeled as containing Norton Utilities for Windows 95/98. Some have NASA symbols on the labels.

Two of the disks are titled "Crew Personal Support Data Disk" with the names Shep and Sergei on them. It was likely NASA astronaut William Shepherd and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, both of whom were part of the Expedition 1 crew in 2000.

The floppy explosion of the past is a playful reminder of the legacy of the ISS that has lasted for two decades. Technology has come a long way during this period, but the relics remain.