Space selfie
A space selfie is a selfie (self-portrait photograph that typically posted on social media sites[1]) that is taken in space. This include selfies taken by astronauts,[2] machines[3] and by an indirect method to have self-portrait photograph on earth retaken in space.[4]
Astronauts
The extra-vehicular activity (EVA) equipment used by astronauts during spacewalks contains a specially-designed camera for photo taking in outer space. The main purpose of the EVA camera is to take pictures of the subjects related to the missions.[5]
There have been many space selfies in the past space missions. This included the use of visor of another astronaut's helmet as the mirror. Early space selfies after the word "selfie" was first used in 2002[1] without an assistance from another astronaut included Donald Pettit and Stephen Robinson. Pettit took it during the Expedition 6 in January 2003.[6] Robinson took his during the repair of the Space Shuttle Discovery[7] on August 3, 2005 as part of the STS-114 mission.[8]
Another notable space selfie was taken by Aki Hoshide during the six-hour, 28-minute spacewalk on September 5, 2012.[9] As the selfies became more popular in 2013, this picture was mentioned on an article about selfie trend.[10] Hoshide's photo became a viral phenomenon after Commander Chris Hadfield uploaded the photo to his social media account, Twitter, on September 30, 2013.[11] Coincidentally, Oxford University Press, the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary announced in November 2013 that "selfie" was the word of the year for 2013.[12] The picture then become at the top of many selfie lists of the year.[13][14] Another space selfie of Hoshide also showed up on Instagram and went to a list of top selfie of 2013.[15]
Machines
Although the self-portrait photography is not a new phenomenon for space-mission machines which dated back to 1976 when the lander of the Viking 2 mission took the photo of its deck after landing on Mars, they were not considered as true selfie. In 2012, Curiosity rover equipped with Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) used its robotics arm with attached camera that can turn around to start taking authentic space selfies.[16] Curiosity took its first space selfie on September 7, 2012.[17][18] It was posted on its facebook account on September 8, 2012 with the message:
Hello, Gorgeous! Snapped this self portrait while inspecting my MAHLI camera with its dust cover intentionally left on. This was a test to make sure the cover, its hinge the area it sweeps when it opens are clear of debris.
— NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover, http://www.facebook.com/MarsCuriosity
Indirect methods
In the case that a person cannot be in the outer space, there is an alternative method that was proposed to take space selfies by using an indirect method. This has been promoted as part of the crowdfunding efforts for the Planetary Resources's ARKYD mission. The ARKYD "space selfie" method will allow donors to upload their own photos on to the telescope that will be orbiting the earth. The telescope will have a robotic arm equipped with a camera and a small screen to display the picture of the donor on one surface of the telescope. The on-screen image of the donor will be visible to the lower part of the camera with the earth as the background, allowing a space selfie to be taken.[19][20]
References
- ^ a b "Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013". Oxford University Press. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "The 50 Best Space Photos of 2013". AOL Weather. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Ancient Mars lake may have supported life". Associated Press. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Howell, Elizabeth (11 June 2013). "'Space Selfie' Telescope Could Hunt Alien Planets … If It Raises A Cool $2M". Universe Today. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "IMAGE: Nikon F5 EVA Camera New Space Walk Camera". NASA. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Howell, Elizabeth (3 October 2013). "Best Ever Astronaut 'Selfies'". Universe Today. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Self-portraits and social media: The rise of the 'selfie'". BBC News Magazine. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "STS-114 Shuttle Mission Imagery S114-E-6338". NASA. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "International Space Station Imagery ISS032-E-025258". NASA. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Day, Elizabeth (13 July 2013). "How selfies became a global phenomenon". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Chris Hadfield Tweets A Selfie In Space (PHOTO)". The Huffington Post Canada. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Hui, Sylvia (19 November 2013). "Oxford Dictionaries: 'Selfie' is word of the year". The Detroit News. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Seven of the best selfies you will see today: As selfie is named word of the year, we round up seven of the best". Metro. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Obama caught snapping 'funeral selfie': Craziest selfies of all time". NY Daily News. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Gordon, Naomi (11 December 2013). "8 surprising celebrity selfies: Pope Francis, Darth Vader and the Obamas". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ O'Neill, Ian (5 December 2013). "Top 10 Space Robot 'Selfies': Photos". Discovery News. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Trei, Michael (10 September 2012). "Pictured: Curiosity takes first ever Mars 'selfie'". DVICE. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Rover Takes Self Portrait (ID#: PIA16149)". NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Planetary Resources raises $1.5m on Kickstarter to let you take selfies from space". Financial Times. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Tickle, Glen (22 June 2013). "Crowdfunded ARKYD Space Telescope Lets You Put Your Face in Space, Take Space Selfies". Geek System. Retrieved 27 December 2013.