An astronaut's photos of her home state are going viral.

Christina Koch tweeted out the photos of the Outer Banks from the International Space Station . Koch calls Jacksonville, NC home and earned her undergrad and masters degrees from North Carolina State University.

Photo from spaces shows the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Courtesy @Astro_Christina on Twitter.

She says the views of her home state and popular vacation destination took her breath away.

"It's a special thing to see from above the place where you grew up--the ocean that first inspired my fascination with things that make me feel small & planted the seed to explore," Koch wrote.

Koch (far right) launched with Expedition 59 in March. She'll complete the longest ever space flight by a female astronaut. Photo courtesy NASA.

Koch's mission launched last month, and she won't return to Earth until February 2020. She'll spend 328 days in space, the longest space flight ever by a female astronaut. It is just 12 days shy of Mark Kelly's 340-day space flight, the longest in history.

According to NASA part of Koch's mission is to help study the effects of long-term space travel on human health.

Astronaut Christina Koch. Photo courtesy NASA.