To boldly go where one has never gone before: Queen's message to tweeting astronaut

Colonel Chris Hadfield aboard the International Space Station Credit: Twitter/@Cmdr_Hadfield

The Queen has sent her "best wishes" to Colonel Christopher Hadfield as he takes over control of the International Space Station today.

Her message read:

The astronaut has risen to worldwide fame after he began tweeting photographs of Earth from his window in the space station.

See a selection of his recent photographs below:

Saskatoon on the South Saskatchewan River in Canada Credit: Twitter/@Cmdr_Hadfield
Tarout Bay in Saudi Arabia Credit: Twitter/@Cmdr_Hadfield
An unidentified mining town in central Asia Credit: Twitter/@Cmdr_Hadfield
An enormous eddy off the coast of Italy Credit: Twitter/@Cmdr_Hadfield
Hadfield posted this photo with the caption "Beautiful blood orange, freshly-delivered from California. It was delicious - thanks" Credit: Twitter/@Cmdr_Hadfield

See more of Colonel Chris Hadfield's photographs here.