Reddit moderator removed a genuine space photograph posted by NASA astronaut and said 'hopefully this won’t happen again
Published on Feb 06, 2026 at 7:37 PM (UTC+4)
by Grace Donohoe
Last updated on Feb 06, 2026 at 7:37 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
This Reddit moderator made a big faux pas when they deleted a genuine picture taken by a real-life NASA astronaut.
It all took place on an aviation subreddit when new moderators were learning the ropes.
After the error was spotted by users, another Reddit moderator expressed their sincere apologies.
Rules like these are put into place to keep the site running smoothly, but as you’ll see, things don’t always go to plan.
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Reddit and NASA: Space news on the move
By now, we’ve all heard of Reddit, the social media site that lets you ask questions, share news, vote on comments, and discuss things in threads.
From NASA news to funny local images, the site covers pretty much every topic possible.
The site has special volunteers called moderators who keep subreddits in check.
This basically means that they keep the content online relevant to the topic under discussion by removing spam, managing bans, and setting rules for debate.
Recently, though, one Reddit moderator had a nightmare day and made a rather substantial, but humorous error.
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Outer space or out of place? This Reddit moderator decided
News quickly spread when a genuine NASA astronaut, Don Pettit, posted a picture of an airplane in the sky, taken all the way from the International Space Station.
The user named astro_pettit shared the picture and said: “Passenger jet photographed on Expedition 72 to the ISS, over the Aleutian Islands on October 20, 2024, 18:26 UTC.”
“Unsure what the flight is, but we happened to be overhead.”
But, sadly, a Reddit moderator felt like they had to delete the picture altogether as it was allegedly ‘too blurry’.
However, once news of the incident spread online, another moderator apologized.
“We brought some new people onto the mod team, and unfortunately, there are some learning curves.
“I caught the issue and fixed it. Thanks to everyone who let me know that this happened.
“I’ll speak to the guy who made the mistake, and hopefully this won’t happen again.
“Quality ain’t bad when you consider the pic is 250-ish miles away.”
Another comment from the mod who apologized also read: “It happens unfortunately, but we’ve been able to understand why and what happened and more importantly, know to not let it happen again.”
We’ve all had the moment where something goes wrong on the first day of a new job, but at least it’s an amusing story for both the astronaut and the moderator to tell for years to come.
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Beginning her career as a lifestyle reporter and social-media manager, Grace joined Supercar Blondie in February 2025. Since coming on board, she has thrown herself into the busy daily writing schedule. Her editorial sweet spots include writing about luxury properties and the quirky features inside them that the one percent are investing in, as well as groundbreaking advancements in space exploration.
