You've used Google Street View to check out a new apartment, map traffic before you hit the road and search for haunting slices of the everyday world.
Now, the comprehensive terrestrial mapping system has gone Extra-Terrestrial, allowing users to peer inside the International Space Station (ISS) from their computer 248 miles below with 360-degree, panoramic views.
The Street View imagery was captured by Thomas Pesquet, an astronaut with the European Space Agency, who spent six months aboard the ISS before returning to Earth in June.
Google Street View, which is featured in Google Maps and Google World, was launched in 2007 and quickly expanded locations around the globe, including places as remote as Mt. Everest base camp and as offbeat as Loch Ness. The vast majority of Street View's photography is shot by a vehicle, whose movement is available to fans online.
Google's foray into space is the first time Street View imagery was captured beyond planet Earth.
In a blog post about his experience, Pesquet wrote that "it was difficult to find the words or take a picture that accurately describes the feeling of being in space."
"Working with Google on my latest mission, I captured Street View imagery to show what the ISS looks like from the inside, and share what it's like to look down on Earth from space," he added.
The virtual tour allows users to peek into areas where astronauts eat, exercise, work and even bathe. Read more...
Now, the comprehensive terrestrial mapping system has gone Extra-Terrestrial, allowing users to peer inside the International Space Station (ISS) from their computer 248 miles below with 360-degree, panoramic views.
The Street View imagery was captured by Thomas Pesquet, an astronaut with the European Space Agency, who spent six months aboard the ISS before returning to Earth in June.
Google Street View, which is featured in Google Maps and Google World, was launched in 2007 and quickly expanded locations around the globe, including places as remote as Mt. Everest base camp and as offbeat as Loch Ness. The vast majority of Street View's photography is shot by a vehicle, whose movement is available to fans online.
Google's foray into space is the first time Street View imagery was captured beyond planet Earth.
In a blog post about his experience, Pesquet wrote that "it was difficult to find the words or take a picture that accurately describes the feeling of being in space."
"Working with Google on my latest mission, I captured Street View imagery to show what the ISS looks like from the inside, and share what it's like to look down on Earth from space," he added.
The virtual tour allows users to peek into areas where astronauts eat, exercise, work and even bathe. Read more...