The International Space Station is an incredible feat of engineering, however, it's not one that many people will get to experience in person during their lifetime.
Those who are lucky enough to go to the ISS, however, have captured some amazing footage for us to enjoy back down here on Earth. The video was captured through a new Red Epic Dragon camera, which allows for video to be captured at a stunning 6,144 by 3160 pixels.
"This is a huge leap in camera technology for spaceflight," said Rodney Grubbs, program manager for the NASA Imagery Experts Program. "These cameras have large sensors capable of very high resolution imaging at high frame rates. It is like having a high speed 35 mm motion picture film camera, but it is compact, can use lenses we already have up there, and it is digital. No film to return to Earth."
The agency has begun posting videos captured through the camera to its YouTube channel, with quality being available for viewing up to a massive 4K. Eventually, we may see video being posted at 6K, as the camera itself is certainly able to handle 6K video.
The videos posted so far include one showing the reaction between a water bubble and an effervescent tablet at zero gravity. Another shows a number of shots of inhabitants of the space station at work, as well as some amazing shots of weather on Earth.
The Red Epic Dragon camera isn't just great for capturing the ISS in high quality. It's very useful in a host of other applications. In fact, it can capture video at up to 300 frames per second, making it great for slow-motion recording. The sharp imagery should also help show more information about science experiments aboard the space station.
NASA itself is using the camera in other places too, such as for vehicle tracking at the Marshall Flight Center.
NASA has been sending a lot of media back to Earth of late, with the organization having beamed the first high quality photos of Pluto back to Earth through the New Horizons spacecraft, which flew by Pluto only a few weeks ago. The photos showed haze that extended around the planet quite a few times higher than anticipated by researchers. We also were able to catch a much better look at the icy mountains on Pluto, some of which extend 11,000 feet in the air.
Those interested in taking a look at the new high-resolution videos can head to the ReelNASA YouTube channel here. While 4K viewing is an option, keep in mind that watching in 4K won't really mean anything if you don't have a 4K display to watch it on.
