Diatomic ligands in hemoproteins and the way they bind to the active center are central to the protein's function. Using picosecond Fe K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we probe the NO-heme recom-bination kinetics with direct sensitivity to the Fe-NO binding after 532-nm photoexcitation of nitrosylmyoglobin (MbNO) in physiological solutions. The transients at 70 and 300 ps are identical, but they deviate from the difference between the static spectra of deoxymyoglo-bin and MbNO, showing the formation of an intermediate species. We propose the latter to be a six-coordinated domed species that is populated on a timescale of ∼200 ps by recombination with NO ligands. This work shows the feasibility of ultrafast pump–probe X-ray spec-troscopic studies of proteins in physiological media, delivering insight into the electronic and geometric structure of the active center.