Social media’s power to connect people is so remarkable you could say it’s out of this world! These days, Twitter users don’t just post what’s happening from their neighbourhood cafés and local sports games, they’re also sending some rather cosmic messages from hundreds of kilometres above the Earth’s surface.

Here’s our list of our eight favourite tweets from space:

1. Astro_Mike And The First Tweet From Space

It’s not quite landing on the moon, but astronaut Mike Massimino’s 139-character missive is the first tweet ever to be sent from space.

2. @Astro_Tj Announces That The ISS Is Now Tweet-Enabled

Colonel Timothy Creamer was the first person to send a live tweet from the International Space Station – an astronaut’s home away from home while in Earth orbit. After a lengthy struggle with the tech, the ISS astronauts finally managed to install a wireless connection strong enough to let them post directly from space.

3. @Marscuriosity Arrives On The Red Planet

The entire world was watching (and following) the Curiosity Rover as it touched down on Mars and sent back this tiny, blurry photo of the Martian surface.

4. @Astro_Andre Watches The Dragon Approach

This is a historic moment with a beautiful photo. Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers monitors the historic arrival of the SpaceX Dragon capsule – the first privately-owned spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station. And we like the local flavour here – SpaceX was founded by SA-born entrepreneur Elon Musk.

5. @Astro_Andre’s Supermoon

Here’s another one from keen photographer Andre Kuipers – a beautiful shot of the “super moon” setting behind the Earth. So-called ‘super moons’ occur when the full or new moon coincides with the moon’s closest approach to Earth.

6. @Astro_Aggie’s Manmade Comet

That’s no shooting star – it’s a cargo ship burning up on re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, a shot from on board the ISS.

7. Astro_Ron Tweets From His Bedroom

It’s cosy, to say the least…

8. First Game Announcement From Space

Not exactly a tweet, but it sure did spark a Twitter storm! Rovio’s newest “Space” version of the incredibly popular Angry Birds game was announced from space by astronauts on the ISS. Well worth watching their video here: