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Astronauts See Obama Inauguration Site from Space

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National Mall From Orbit
Snapped from the International Space Station on Sunday (Jan. 20), this photo shows the National Mall from orbit. (Image credit: NASA)

Even astronauts in space are turning their attention to President Barack Obama's inauguration today (Jan. 21), snapping photos of the U.S. capital from high above Earth.

New photos snapped by astronauts on the International Space Station over the weekend show key areas of Washington, D.C., as it appears from 240 miles (386 kilometers) up. Two Americans, Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn, are living on the station, which Ford is commanding.

"This detailed view shows the Potomac River and its bridges at left, with National Mall at the center, stretching eastward from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument toward the Capitol building, where the inaugural ceremony will be held," NASA officials said in a statement.

NASA had a few different events planned for inaugural weekend. A group of the agency's astronauts and scientists—including "Mohawk Guy" Bobak Ferdowsi—will march in the inaugural parade today alongside full-sized models of the Mars Curiosity Rover and the Orion Space Capsule.

Taken by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield from the International Space Station, this photo shows the path of the inaugural parade on Jan. 21 (Image credit: Chris Hadfield @Cmdr_Hadfield)

The space station is currently home to six astronauts representing the United States, Russia and Canada. In addition to Marshburn and Ford, the crew includes three Russian cosmonauts and Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Hadfield even got in on the inaugural celebrations with a photo of Washington D.C. on Saturday (Jan. 19).

"You can even follow the parade route," Hadfield wrote in a post on Twitter, where he chronicles his flight as @Cmdr_Hadfield.

Read NASA's full schedule from President Obama's inaugural weekend here.

This story was provided by SPACE.com, a sister site to Live Science. Follow Miriam Kramer on Twitter @mirikramer or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

Miriam Kramer
Miriam Kramer
Miriam Kramer joined Space.com as a staff writer in December 2012. Since then, she has floated in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight, felt the pull of 4-Gs in a trainer aircraft and watched rockets soar into space from Florida and Virginia. She also serves as Space.com's lead space entertainment reporter, and enjoys all aspects of space news, astronomy and commercial spaceflight.  Miriam has also presented space stories during live interviews with Fox News and other TV and radio outlets. She originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee where she and her family would take trips to dark spots on the outskirts of town to watch meteor showers every year. She loves to travel and one day hopes to see the northern lights in person.