Over the course of the past six months, Crew-6 has delivered an abundance of breathtaking images from the International Space Station. These views of Earth give the rest of the population the ability to see our planet from unprecedented views.
Photography
Granting the world with spectacular views, in particular, was United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi. When asked about the challenges of photography while on the ISS, he responded by talking through three steps about each photo session, “Three things; you need to have planning, patience, and then technique”.
Astronauts receive photography training before flying, something that may not appear obvious at first, but is essential in learning how to effectively capture these images. Alneyadi stated that it would be easier to know how to target specific locations on Earth with this training.
Imagine looking at Google Maps without any borders, names, or other indicators of location. Could you find the nearest major city? Identify rivers? Or find where you live? Now, look through a viewfinder that limits your view even more. Although Alneyadi, didn’t go into detail about training and the different techniques he used to get better at photography from space, but geographic knowledge plays a major role.
Additionally, Alneyadi admitted that the photography was “challenging at first”, however, his Twitter page shows that he mastered the craft.
Overview Effect
A simple title with a world of meaning, the overview effect, as defined by World Atlas, “is something that inevitably makes people question what is important, because, for the first time in their life, they can see how our planet stands alone, looking motionless in the dark.”
AlNeyadi described his version of the overview effect very similarly, “The overview effect is very deep. You see the planet and everything that you know of, the history and the actions and advents throughout the history, on that planet that you are orbiting every 90 minutes”. While on orbit there are two things out the window, the rest of space, and the only place astronauts can return to, Earth. On that Earth is, as Carl Sagan describes it in his famous “Pale Blue Dot” speech, “…everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives”.
These views also made AlNeyadi realize the fragility of the planet, which he is about to return to.
“And it’s only protected by a thin layer of atmosphere. It’s really surreal that you are living in a planet that is susceptible to damage. That’s why I always say that we need to protect it, we need to [take] good care of it collectively as nations”.
– Sultan alneyadi, Crew 6 Mission specialist
This response received nods of approval from the three other Crew 6 astronauts.
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