Oh sweet Jesus, it’s now May and there’s still snow in Michigan.

We know this thanks to NASA astronaut and Grand Rapids native Christina Koch, who tweeted a stunning photo of the Great Lakes State live from outer space on Wednesday.

“Waving to the mitten! Greetings to my friends and family in Michigan,” Koch tweeted from the International Space station. “The Great Lakes are as stunning from space as they are in person.”

Speaking on behalf of our giant mitten-shaped state, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer confirmed that Michigan is waving back.

Koch is on track to make history as the woman in space for the longest stretch of time. Koch has been on the ISS since March 14 and is scheduled to leave in February 2020. So far, the longest stretch in time in space for a woman is Peggy Wilson’s 288-day stay in 2016 and 2017. The overall record is held by Scott Kelly, who was in space for 340 days in 2015 and 2016.

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Leyland “Lee” DeVito is the editor in chief of Detroit Metro Times since 2016. His writing has also been published in CREEM, VICE, In These Times, and New City.

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