Astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency has published an in-depth tour of the International Space Station, the first of its kind to be shot in 4K resolution.
This is an amazing video, lasting 25 minutes which clearly shows the sheer size of the station. All the videos so far have been relatively short and show a few units of the station. Of course that's not the case, the station is literally huge, and in today's video you'll see on the bottom left of it, a super neat mini-map that looks like a video game, showing where you were in the station at any given time.
Astronaut Thomas Pesquet embarked for his second stint on the ISS on April 23, 2021, as part of Missions SpaceX Crew-2. The tour is recorded with Pesquet speaking in French, although there are English subtitles if you need them.
As you will see, almost everything in the space station is glued to the wall using Velcro or straps. Otherwise, cameras, computers, space suits and all intermediates will float freely.
Many areas on the space station are used for storage and it is perfectly normal for them astronauts have to navigate these obstacles when crossing from point A to point B.
The tour also allows us to look through the portholes, getting a taste of the other parts of the space station, from the outside.
Despite the limitations, there are many amenities to keep astronauts safe. A refrigerator has recently been installed, and there is also an oven and dining area with standard condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. I even caught a glimpse of an NFL show on one of the laptops in the background.
It is interesting that after a while you will realize that there is virtually no up-down, right-left and it all depends on how things are placed around you, so that the eye is visually deceived. At some point it even shows a "bedroom" on the roof of the hallway !.
Because even with private space companies operating now, it's unlikely that most of us will ever get the chance to visit the space, let's settle for such videos.
Watch the video above and make sure you see it in full screen: