n astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has snapped a A stunning image of a snow-circled hydrothermal lake atop the real-life Mount Doom in New Zealand. Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand’s largest active volcano and the setting used movies, sits at the heart of Tongariro National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located at the centre of New Zealand’s North Island. Other locations in the park were also used to portray the evil realm of Mordor in Peter Jackson’s cinematic adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic series. An unidentified astronaut, part of the Expedition 65 crew on board the ISS, snapped the stunning new photo on 23 September 2021 as the station passed over the volcano.
