I photographed ISS astronauts on a spacewalk in “once in a lifetime photo” – and I snapped it from ‘249 MILES away’

A PERSON on the ground has captured a photo of astronauts in space.

It’s a miraculous feat of photographic engineering, mixed with an amazing coincidence.

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Sebastian Voltmer tweeted out his snapshots, writing “During the #spacewalk of the two astronauts @Astro_Raja and @astro_matthias the International Space Station appeared shortly after sunset in the bright evening sky over Germany.”

He used an 11-inch telescope and a planetary camera to grab the images.

“It’s probably the first ground-based picture showing two spacewalkers on the ISS at the same time,” Voltmer said.

Incredibly, Voltmer was in the hometown of one of the astronauts at the time of taking the photo.

The ISS is manned at all times – in over two decades of orbit, the station has never been empty.

The exterior occasionally requires maintenance, which compels astronauts to take ambitious spacewalks.

The astronauts in Voltmer’s photo were in the midst of a seven-hour zero-gravity repair shift.

The team is part of Nasa’s European counterpart, the ESA – European Space Agency.

Experts theorize the ISS will remain functional until at least 2030.

Given its international nature, it’ll take a consensus among global leaders to deconstruct the iconic space structure.

Visionaries like Elon Musk are working to develop the Gateway Space Station, which will be locked in the Moon’s orbit.

Gateway will serve as a a man-made pit stop on the way to Mars.

The ISS is made of 16 modules that were assembled in spaceGetty Images – Getty