2023-11-06 15:15:43
NASA is making it easier for the public to spot the International Space Station as it flies over our world, and also expanding access to news and resources about it with a new mobile phone app called Spot the Station. ).
The application is based on el sitio web Spot the Station agency and provides additional information and capabilities to enhance the public’s space station sighting experience. The mobile application is now available on that website for download on iOS and Android.
In the app, an augmented reality interface makes it easy for users to locate the station and offers options to capture and share images and videos of their sightings in real time. With the power of augmented reality, the app’s built-in compass will show the viewer where the space station is, even if it’s on the other side of the planet. Users can also sign up to receive notifications of upcoming sighting opportunities on their mobile phones based on their exact location.
“Even after 23 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station, it is incredibly exciting to see the station when you look up at just the right moment,” emphasizes Robyn Gatens, director of the International Space Station at NASA Headquarters. in Washington. “This orbital laboratory, which continues to provide so many unique and tangible benefits to humanity, is really not that far out of reach.”
The space station is visible because it reflects light from the Sun, which is the same reason we can see the Moon. But unlike the Moon, the space station is not bright enough to be observed during the day. It is only possible to see it when it dawns or dusks in the viewer’s location. Therefore, the sighting opportunity varies from once a month to several times a week, since there needs to be darkness in the viewer’s location, and the space station has to pass overhead. With the Spot the Station mobile app, users will know when the station is flying over their area and how to locate it.
NASA’s new application helps to spot the International Space Station, whose oldest modules will celebrate a quarter of a century in orbit next month. (Image: NASA)
The application was developed by the International Space Station Program in NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate and the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation, which is part of the Mission Directorate’s Awards, Challenges and Crowdsourcing program of Space Technology of the agency. The application code is open for anyone to access, modify, and use in their own projects, as well as provide optional comments for developers. NASA will continue to continually update and improve the mobile app as it receives user feedback.
The launch of this application also occurs in time for the 25th anniversary of the start of operations of the International Space Station, which corresponds to the union of the Zarya and Unity modules, the first elements of what is today an enormous orbital complex, the 6 December 1998.
The space station allows the advancement of scientific knowledge in Earth, space, physical and biological sciences for the benefit of the inhabitants of our home planet. Additionally, the space station serves as a laboratory for cutting-edge research, including the development of technology for human and robotic exploration of destinations beyond low Earth orbit, including the Moon and Mars. (Source: NASA)
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