If you haven’t heard of Urthecast, you need to fix that.
Based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Urthecast is a company working hand-in-hand with NASA to provide the first publicly accessible HD camera that’s attached to the International Space Station.
While their main objective is a constant stream of HD footage broadcasted live for the world to see, Urthecast has also created a new Chrome App that will automatically display one of the thousands of incredible images Urthecast has in its growing archive when you open a new tab in your browser.
The device used to capture the footage and images is called the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) camera. It first started streaming video and capturing images in April 2014.
To keep the collection of HD cameras safe from the harsh outside environment, an enclosure was build to house the cameras at both the right pressure and temperature. This module is attached to the External Payload Facility of the European Space Agency’s Columbus module, roughly 250 miles into the sky.
This new Chrome App is merely a small detail in the accomplishments Urthecast has achieved, but it’s a small detail that will inspire you with incredible images of the Blue Marble you live on with every new tab you open.
Head on over to the Google Chrome Store to download the browser plugin for free.
FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!