An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed the Saririaky anorthosite massif in southern Madagascar on August 28, 2026. The photograph captures an ancient geological formation, featuring an outcrop that covers approximately 100 square kilometers (40 square miles).
According to the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center, the photograph was catalogued as ISS075-E-85249. A crew member on Expedition 75 took the image from orbit using a Nikon Z9 digital camera equipped with a 400-millimeter focal length lens.
Geological Origins and Lunar Comparisons
Scientists estimate that the Saririaky massif formed during the late Precambrian period, at least 600 million years ago. According to researchers and geologists, the massif lies inside a ductile shear zone that was reshaped by deformation during the collision that formed the supercontinent Gondwana.
Anorthosite formations exist on both Earth and the Moon, though they developed under very different conditions. While the Saririaky massif formed in Madagascar at least 600 million years ago, lunar anorthosites are much older. Rocks of this type on the Moon formed more than 4 billion years ago from the lunar magma ocean.
