Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: Yes, but can your soccer ball do this? The ball near the middle of the above photograph is actually a robotic camera designed to float about a Space Shuttle and the International Space Station and take pictures. Named "Sprint", it is NASA's first Autonomous Extravehicular Activity Robotic Camera (AERCam) and was tested earlier this month by the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia. Sprint's diameter is actually about 50 percent larger than a soccer ball, and astronauts make a goal of not kicking it.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publications with keywords: camera
Publications with words: camera
See also:

• The Crown of the Sun
• Space Station and Space Shuttle: Backyard View
• Solar System Web Cam