close menu

Let this Video Take You on the Definitive International Space Station Tour

If you like space at all (as you should; it’s out of this world, I’ll see myself out), you’ve already watched astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) lead us around our only extra-terrestrial home. But micro-gravity can make everything pretty disorienting — up there, there is so such thing as “up.” What is it really like to live inside the football field-sized station?

In a very clever new video from the fantastic science YouTube channel SmarterEveryDay, our host Destin gets a personal tour of a full-sized ISS mock-up from astronaut Scott Kelly, who is currently spending one year in space. What sets this video apart from other, in-space, tours we’ve gotten from astronauts before is that Destin has added a video game-style mini-map (complete with sight lines). Combined with the Earth-based orientation we’re all used to, the 12-min tour gave me a much better sense of how our intrepid space travelers are living.

What struck me the most is that the ISS is much more spacious than I gathered from watching other astronaut videos. Granted, Kelly states that there would be a lot more hardware when you’re actually in space, but still, I didn’t get the cramped vibe from this video. I know I’d like to launch my weightless self down one of those corridors! And yeah, that tiny coffin of a space bed does look cozy.

IMAGE: NASA

Prince's 10 Most Controversial Songs

Prince's 10 Most Controversial Songs

article
Solve These DARK TOWER Riddles in Honor of the 19th (Exclusive)

Solve These DARK TOWER Riddles in Honor of the 19th (Exclusive)

article
Not Even Kevin Bacon Could Handle This Real-Life Graboid

Not Even Kevin Bacon Could Handle This Real-Life Graboid

article