NASA streaming earth in HD from ISS
In this image taken from video provided by NASA, astronauts Rick Mastracchio, top, and Michael Hopkins work to repair an external cooling line on the International Space Station on Monday, Dec. 24, 2013, 260 miles above Earth. The external cooling line one of two shut down Dec. 11. The six-man crew had to turn off all nonessential equipment, including experiments. (AP Photo/NASA)
The International Space Station (ISS) recently started streaming video through Ustream as it races around the planet, allowing everyone a chance to enjoy the view previously only accessible to astronauts.
The view of Earth from space has captivated astronauts since the first space flight in 1961.
Astronauts have captured nearly 1.8 million images of the Earth since then, all of which are hosted by NASA. Nearly a quarter of those images have been taken from the space station, which has been in orbit since 1998.
Clearly these images strike a chord in those of us stuck on the ground; according to NASA, those images have been downloaded nearly 824 million times.
