International Space Station (ISS) astronaut Thomas Pesquet has been busy creating various videos introducing us to different parts of the orbiting laboratory.
His latest effort is an immersive 360-degree video highlighting the Node 2 module, also known as Harmony.
The Frenchman describes Node 2 as a “crossroads” where you can sometimes see “astronauts flying in all directions.”
Float one way and you’ll head into the U.S.-operated Destiny module. Go another way and you’ll find yourself in Europe’s Columbus module. Take another route and you’ll enter Japan’s Kibo module.
Pesquet highlights various features of Node 2, including its blue tables for carrying out work-related tasks using a wide range of tools that you can see attached to the wall with Velcro.
“It can sometimes look kind of messy,” Pesquet says of the tool kit. “But normally, we know exactly where things are.”
Node 2 is also large enough to house four sleeping stations. Pesquet slides into one during the video, explaining that you can also use the room as a private space for reading or tapping out emails to family and friends back on Earth.
The astronaut explains that just before and after sleeping, you lose the sense of weightlessness somewhat because of the way you’re fastened to the wall (so you don’t float around in the night). But he adds that it’s always a great feeling the next morning when you leave the sleeping station and feel yourself floating again.
The importance of Node 2 is highlighted by the fact that the module also acts as a work platform for the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm and includes docking ports for visiting spacecraft.
Being a 360-degree video, the viewer can move around the entire scene to explore the module. Pesquet delivers the tour in his native tongue, so if you’d prefer English, simply hit the “CC” button on the YouTube video player to launch subtitles.
Pesquet’s other 360-video shows us around the Columbus module. Another video features the astronaut talking us through the gear used for spacewalks.
NASA describes the space station as around the size of a six-bedroom house. The habitable satellite features sleeping quarters, three bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree bay window through which visiting astronauts are able to snap gorgeous Earth images.
To find out more about how crew members work, rest, and play aboard the ISS, check out these insightful videos created by the astronauts themselves.
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