Coming soon! Click a space selfie with Earth photobombing you
A satellite equipped with a phone and another camera will let you take a selfie with Earth in the background. (Photo: NASA) Photograph:( X )
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Innovation straight out of sci-fi films lets you click a selfie with Earth in the background, all without going to space
Innovation straight out of sci-fi films lets you click a selfie with Earth in the background, all without going to space
Astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) regularly share pictures of Earth and the amazing things happening in space around them. Now you too can take a picture of yourself in space without actually going there. A new satellite that will launch soon let you click a selfie with Earth in the background.
Mark Rober, the man behind the satellite, wants to take people to space with their pictures. Talking about his project in a YouTube video, he said that the satellite will be "one small step for mankind, one giant leap for your selfie game".
The innovative satellite has a Google Pixel phone on board with a radiation-resistant case protecting it. Another camera faces it, which will snap a photo of your selfie with Earth photobombing it after you upload it to the phone.
The satellite also has a GPS tracker on it with solar panels powering the phone.
Rober has worked for NASA as an engineer in the past, and his main accolades include seven years working on the Mars Curiosity rover. His "custom-built" satellite is named SAT GUS and will launch into space next month.
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Explaining the process, Rober says in the video, "What makes SAT GUS so special is that she's got a phone right here and a camera right here, and her sole purpose is to take your selfie in space with the Earth photobombing you."
Two of you in the same photo
It gets even better. Rober said you can also have yourself twice in the picture - two of you in the same photo. He said, "If you tell me the city you live in, when you upload your picture, the satellite will not only take a selfie over your city, but we'll tell you precisely when that will happen."
So when this happens, you can come out in the yard and wave, and the camera will capture you again in the selfie.
The amazing invention has stumped people, who can't wait to get a selfie with Earth in the background. A user commented on his video, "This is something that would have been considered totally science fiction back when I was a kid! And now accessible to all!"
