Featured Image Credit: YouTube/@MarkRober
A new satellite will be able to take your selfie from space with Earth in the background.
One man has built a satellite with the sole intention of taking everyday people to space - well, their selfies at least.
Mark Rober explained his project in a YouTube video where he said that the satellite will be ‘one small step for mankind, one giant leap for your selfie game’.
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Rober is a former NASA engineer and previously spent seven years working on the Mars Curiosity rover.
For his new venture, he decided to create a new, ‘custom-built’ satellite named SAT GUS, which is due to launch into space next month.
In the video, Rober said: “What makes SAT GUS so special is that she's got a phone right here and a camera right here, and her sole purpose is to take your selfie in space with the Earth photobombing you.
“And it gets even cooler because if you tell me the city you live in, when you upload your picture, the satellite will not only take the selfie over your city, but we'll tell you precisely when that will happen.
“So if you go out yard and wave, you'll technically be in the photo twice.”
The YouTuber went on to say: “It's incredible we live in a day and age where just an everyday civilian like you and me can just decide to build something and send it to space.”
The satellite has a Google Pixel phone onboard, protected by a radiation resistant case.
There’s another camera facing it so you can upload your selfie to the phone and the camera will snap a picture of it with Earth in the background.
The invention has a GPS tracker and solar panels to power the phone.
Viewers of the video were blown away by the invention, with many taking to the YouTube comment section to share their reactions.
One user wrote: “This is another level of YouTube creator content, and educational entertainment in general. Mark, your impact on the next generation of engineers will have ripple effects for all humanity. Epic stuff.”
Another said: “This is something that would have been considered totally science fiction back when I was a kid! And now accessible to all!”
A third person commented: “Mark casually explains space engineering like it’s IKEA furniture. ‘Just add solar panels and a flywheel!’”
And a fourth added: “Bro casually just built a satellite and explained it like it was building legos…”
