NASA Broadcasts Earth Views in High Definition
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The images shot by the HDTV onboard the KAGUYA show the Earth setting to the horizon near the Moon's South Pole. It took about 70 seconds from the left image to the right image (complete setting.) CREDIT: JAXA/NHK |
NASA is giving Earth folk a new view of their home planet in high-definition (HD), as seen through the eyes of astronauts of past shuttle and International Space Station missions.
The hour-long special includes crisp views of Earth's oceans and continents that only astronauts have been privy to while floating in orbit.
NASA aired the HD broadcast on NASA TV early Friday as a silent film of serene Earth views. A replay is scheduled for the same time on Monday, and will air all day long from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT (1000-1200 GMT) on April 22. The replays include a discussion of the Earth views by Justin Wilkinson, a scientist with the Crew Earth Observations Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The footage will also run on standard NASA TV during regularly scheduled Video File broadcasts.
The astronaut-shot Earth views mark the latest in a series of efforts to view space in high-definition video, whether looking at Earth, the moon or spacecraft interiors.
Japan's Kaguya lunar orbiter captured HD video of Earth-rise while orbiting the moon on April 5, and Japan's tour bus-sized Kibo laboratory on the International Space Station will also host an HD camera once it is completely assembled. The Kibo lab's large pressurized segment is slated for launch in late May aboard a NASA shuttle.
The Discovery Channel also plans on airing a miniseries this year featuring never-before-seen footage of NASA missions restored in high-definition.
Click here for a button to access NASA TV feed on SPACE.com's ISS mission updates.
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