What the Heck Is This?

Just one hint: Being part of this photo must've been a lot of fun.

The image shows the hair of NASA astronaut Cady Coleman aboard the International Space Station while she spoke during a change-of-command ceremony Sunday (May 22), a day prior her planned return to Earth.

Coleman, astronaut Paolo Nespoli of Italy and Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev are slated to get their feet back on the ground today (May 23) via a Russian-built Soyuz space capsule with a planned landing time of 10:26 p.m. EDT (0226 Tuesday GMT). They'll land on the steppes of Kazakhstan in Central Asia.

That will put an end to their Expedition 27 mission to the orbiting outpost, a relatively uneventful yet nonetheless hair-raising experience.

Got a strange or interesting photo related to science, nature or technology? What the Heck, send it to me and maybe I'll use it. And you follow me on Twitter or Facebook.

spaNASA astronaut Cady Coleman speaks during a change of command ceremony on May 22, 2011, one day before her planned return to Earth on a Soyuz spacecraft with Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli (left) and Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev. The three spaceflyers are ending their Expedition 27 mission to the International Space Station. (Image credit: NASA TV)

Robert is an independent health and science journalist and writer based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a former editor-in-chief of Live Science with over 20 years of experience as a reporter and editor. He has worked on websites such as Space.com and Tom's Guide, and is a contributor on Medium, covering how we age and how to optimize the mind and body through time. He has a journalism degree from Humboldt State University in California.