Astronauts Put a GoPro Inside a Floating Water Bubble in the Name of Science

Photography Tips

In the few years they’ve been around, GoPro cameras have been taken almost everywhere and used for everything from bungee jumping and skydiving to scuba diving and swimming with dolphins. It’s hard to imagine a place they haven’t been. Well, now GoPro can scratch a trip to the space station off of its bucket list. Recently astronauts Steve Swanson, Reid Wiseman, and Alexander Gerst conducted some experiments on water surface tension in space. Their materials? Water, their hands, and a GoPro:

The crew created the bubbles by squeezing water out of pouches. This happens because, without gravity, the surface tension binds the water into a gelatinous glob which, if left alone, will eventually become a perfect sphere. Apparently that tension is also strong enough to hold a GoPro in its midst while floating around the International Space Station, giving us a bubble-eye view of the world. (Via PetaPixel)

Although technically, what they’re doing is “explor[ing] the phenomenon of water surface tension in microgravity,” what comes across most is their wonder and delight in seeing how the camera and the water bubble interact. And honestly, what better way to inspire a whole generation of future scientists and astronauts than by showing the fun side of science?

If you want the fullest experience of the bubble eye perspective, check out the 3D version below (you’ll need red-blue stereoscopic 3D vision glasses):

(Of course, this experiment takes on a whole new spin when you consider that water on the space station is 90 percent recycled human urine!)

What’s the most unusual point of view you’ve managed to capture with a GoPro camera?