Google Street View travels to the final frontier; captures images from outer space

Google has taken its cameras where few cameras have gone before, capturing images aboard the International Space Station.

It’s a first for Street View Imagery. With the help of French astronaut and aerospace engineer Thomas Pesquet, who returned to earth last month after a six-month mission, Google has charted life beyond the blue planet, collecting images of life aboard the space station.

For the last 16 years, the ISS — which is the largest manmade body in low orbit — has hosted astronauts and scientists 250 miles above the earth, tasked with collecting data on the planet’s oceans, atmosphere and land surface.

Along with navigating a cramped space crawling with cables and technical equipment in zero gravity, Pesquet had to capture images as six other crew members carried out research and maintenance activities 12 hours a day.

Phots were then sent to earth, where they were stitched together to create panoramic 360-degree imagery of the ISS. Viewers on terra firma can likewise click on the newly added annotations which will pop up as they explore the space station, revealing fun facts like where the astronauts work out, the kinds of food they eat, and the scientific experiments they carry out.

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