How to take a guided tour of the Space Station from the comfort of your home using Google Earth

Ever dreamt of going to the International Space Station? Floating around in space? Looking down as the Earth past you by? Why should astronauts have all the fun, when you can partake? Google Earth, in collaboration with NASA, ESA, JAXA, Roscosmos and CASIS have gotten astronauts living and working at the International Space Station to collect images of the inside of the station and what it’s like to look down at Earth from outer space. Thomas Pesquet, an ESA astronaut spoke about this mission in a  Google blog post. “The mission was the first time Street View imagery was captured beyond planet Earth, and the first time annotations — helpful little notes that pop up as you explore the ISS — have been added to the imagery,” Pesquet wrote. “They provide additional information or fun facts like where we work out to stay physically fit, what kind of food we eat, and where we conduct scientific experiments.” He also elaborated on how they clicked the images of the space station. [caption id=“attachment_8469681” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] A peek at one of the research laboratories at the ISS now available on Street View. Image: Screengrab from Google Earth at ISS[/caption] “Gravity-free method of collecting the imagery using DSLR cameras and equipment already on the ISS…I collected still photos in space, (which) were sent down to Earth (and) stitched together to create panoramic 360-degree imagery of the ISS,” he added. There is a table of contents that helps you navigate the different areas of the station. In the table, one will find facts about the different areas of the ISS: the Columbus Research Laboratory, the Copula Observation Module, docking compartments, etc. You can virtually step inside the ISS and see what the astronauts see during their time up there.

[hq]How to pay ISS a visit using Google Earth[/hq]

[hans][hstep]Step 1: Open Google Earth[/hstep] [hstep]Step 2: Search for International Space Station in the search bar at the left hand corner[/hstep] [hstep]Step 3: Click on the guided tours in the options[/hstep] [hstep]Step 4: Select which part of the station you would like to tour from the Table of Contents[/hstep][/hans]