The astronaut shares great pictures of New Zealand

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

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

The astronaut has close ties to our beautiful country while studying the Masters in Earth Sciences at Victoria University in Wellington from 2001 to 2003.

As part of his master's thesis, he developed a volcano monitoring technique that could improve predictions of volcanic eruptions, which was published in Scientific Magazine.

The astronaut has close ties to our beautiful country while he studied the MSc in Earth Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington from 2001 to 2003. Photo / Alexander Gerst, ESA

"It's in this fabulous country that I first learned what it means to travel beyond my horizons and see the world with my eyes open," Gerst wrote in an article posted on Facebook.

The astronaut had already captured some great pictures of New Zealand, including Mount Ruapehu, where he spent a lot of time studying volcanoes.

The Gerst instagram abounds in incredible images from around the world, including the Chuquicamata copper mine in the Atacama Desert and the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

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

In August, the astronaut made the headlines by plugging a finger in the international space station.

During a live broadcast of the ISS, NASA ground control said: "For the moment, Alex has pinpointed this hole and I do not think it's the best cure to this problem. "

NASA confirmed the problem, saying that it was a "minimal pressure leak" and that the team was repairing the damage.