HD Earth viewing from space was considered downright impossible millennia ago. But with the advancement of today's technology, more and more impossible things have proven to be possible. Now, people don't even have to be an astronaut in order to enjoy what the space farers see from space. Anyone can enjoy HD Earth viewing from space with NASA's real-time video of our planet.
Ever since going to space had been made possible, only astronauts have enjoyed an exclusive view of Earth from space. But now normal people can now enjoy the adventures of an astronaut in terms of getting a view of the Earth because of cameras recently installed on the International Space Station (ISS).
The HD Earth viewing from space has been made possible by NASA's launching of a real-time video of the planet from the International Space Station - streaming 24/7.
According to IFL Science, for this feat, NASA has installed four external cameras on the ISS. The HD Earth viewing from space is part of the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) experiment by NASA. It reportedly allows members of the public to watch a real-time feed of our home planet. In the HD Earth viewing from space live feed, public audiences will view switches between the cameras to 'track' locations below. The live footage will continue streaming until October 2015, Daily Mail reports.
The HDEV investigation reportedly positioned four different commercial high definition cameras on the ISS. Installed on the Columbus External Facility, two identical L-shaped consoles located outside the space station now host a variety of experiments.
The Telegraph reports that one of the stated goals of the HD Earth viewing from space mission is to assess the ability of the HD cameras to survive in the vacuum of space, but the educational benefits are also plain to see.
Launched on Apr. 18, 2014, the HD Earth viewing from space experiment was inside SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft before being installed outside the station on Apr. 30.
The Daily Mail says that the screen may appear black at time. There's no need for alarm as the ISS reportedly orbits the Earth approximately every 90 minutes, and half of that time is spent in darkness while on the night side of Earth. There will also be occasional loss of signal which results in screens appearing black.
If the screen appears black, feel free to take a look at some of the best footage taken by the HD cameras so far below:
Video streaming by Ustream
IFL Science reports that the HD Earth viewing from space experiment is being run in conjunction with the High Schools United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) program. It reportedly serves as an outreach for students 9-12, students who also helped design some aspects of the camera. They are also in charge of operating the cameras from Earth while transmitting footage to the ground in real time.
The cameras used in the HD Earth viewing from space experiment are Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) cameras, which are fixed to the station with no zoom, pan or tilt mechanisms. One of the cameras called 'Nadir' points down towards Earth, one points forward in the direction the station is travelling and two cameras called 'aft' look backwards.
The cameras aren't as exposed to space as one might thing though. They are enclosed in a pressurised box reportedly containing dry nitrogen. Only one camera is functioning and operational at any one time but all cameras work in tandem.
According to Daily Mail, later this year, a separate project called Urthecast will be installed on the ISS. This time, members of the public will be able to zoom and navigate through a higher definition live stream of Earth. Project Urthecast will reportedly let people watch events on Earth unfold in real-time from space.
HD Earth viewing from space can be watched live stream below.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
