[upbeat music]
- "OUR WORLD."
- OH, HEY, EVERYBODY.
I'M LILY, AND THIS IS "OUR WORLD."
I'M JUST LOOKING AT SOME OLD FAMILY PHOTO ALBUMS.
I LOVE LOOKING AT PICTURES.
I ALSO LOVE TAKING PICTURES--
PICTURES OF MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS,
PICTURES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS,
PICTURES OF ANYTHING THAT CATCHES MY EYE.
[camera shutter clicks]
AND WHEN I'M FINISHED TAKING PICTURES,
I LIKE TO PUT THEM ON MY COMPUTER
AND ADD MUSIC AND SPECIAL EFFECTS
AND SHOW THEM TO ALL MY FRIENDS.
DID YOU KNOW THAT NASA TAKES PICTURES
OF ALL SORTS OF THINGS TOO?
FARAWAY GALAXIES, PLANETS,
THE MOON, EVEN EARTH.
SOME OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES OF THE EARTH
WERE TAKEN BY ASTRONAUTS ORBITING OUR WORLD
ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
HERE, CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO I FOUND ON THE NASA WEBSITE.
THIS IS ASTRONAUT JEFF WILLIAMS TALKING ABOUT THE VIEW
AND THE KIND OF PICTURES ASTRONAUTS TAKE WHEN ON ORBIT.
- WE DO MANY THINGS ON BOARD THE SPACE STATION,
BUT ONE OF THE UNIQUE THINGS IS TO VIEW THE EARTH
FROM A VERY UNIQUE VANTAGE POINT.
WE TRAVEL AROUND THE EARTH IN ORBITS THAT LAST 90 MINUTES
AT 17,500 MILES AN HOUR.
WE COVER THE MAJORITY OF THE EARTH.
THE EARTH IS FULL OF AN INCREDIBLE ABUNDANCE
AND VARIETY OF WEATHER AND TERRAIN.
- JUST SO YOU KNOW, "TERRAIN" REFERS
TO THE FEATURES OF THE LAND.
- AND WE NEVER TIRE OF LOOKING AT THAT TERRAIN,
MAKING OBSERVATIONS,
MAKING PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE TERRAIN,
OF THE DIFFERENT MOUNTAINS
AND THE GLACIERS AND THE DESERTS,
WEATHER PATTERNS,
THE HORIZONS, THE SUNSETS AND SUNRISES.
IT'S JUST AN INCREDIBLE VARIETY OF THINGS TO VIEW
ON THE EARTH FROM THE ISS.
- WOW, WHAT AMAZING PICTURES OF EARTH.
AND THE ASTRONAUTS PASS OVER ALL THOSE PLACES
IN JUST A FEW MINUTES.
IT WOULD TAKE ME A LONG TIME
TO GET FROM GLACIERS TO THE DESERT.
WHAT ELSE DO YOU THINK THE ASTRONAUTS CAN SEE
FROM ON ORBIT?
LET'S FIND OUT.
- WE CAN SEE CITIES.
WE CAN SEE LARGE BRIDGES AND STRUCTURES
AND THAT SORT OF THING.
WITH A LARGE LENS LIKE THIS, JUST HANDHELD PHOTOGRAPHY,
WE CAN SEE THINGS LIKE THE PYRAMIDS,
THE DETAILS IN CITIES.
I LOVE TO CAPTURE THE VERY CONGESTED CENTERS
OF EUROPEAN CITIES THAT GO BACK TO THE MEDIEVAL DAYS
OR THE DETAILS OF A RIVERBED
AS IT RISES AND FALLS DURING THE SEASONS OF THE YEAR
OR THE DETAILS OF A GLACIER.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE WOULD BE THE DETAILS OF SAND DUNES
AND THE INCREDIBLE VARIETY OF GEOMETRIC SHAPES
OF THOSE SAND DUNES AROUND THE WORLD.
WE CAN ALSO CATCH THINGS LIKE OCEAN CURRENTS,
ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SUN IS REFLECTING OFF THE OCEAN
OR THE WATER BELOW AS WE PASS OVER.
SO ALL OF THAT JUST--
IT PROVIDES A VERY RICH SUBJECT MATTER
FOR VIEWING THE EARTH.
- BOY, I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL I GROW UP AND CAN WORK AT NASA.
DO YOU KNOW THERE ARE PEOPLE WORKING THERE RIGHT NOW
WHO STARTED OUT IN PROGRAMS AS STUDENTS?
MAYBE I'LL GET A JOB IN MISSION CONTROL
SO I CAN BE ONE OF THE FIRST ONES
TO SEE THOSE NEAT PICTURES.
- NOW, WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES THAT CAN SEE THE PHOTOGRAPHY
AND THE VIEW OUT THE WINDOW FROM ISS.
YOU CAN TOO.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF WAYS YOU CAN DO IT.
ALL OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY WE TAKE IS PRESENT ON THE INTERNET,
AND YOU CAN FIND IT BY SEARCHING
FOR "ASTRONAUT EARTH PHOTOGRAPHY,"
AND THEN GO INTO THAT DATABASE AND SEARCH THAT
FOR PERHAPS AREAS AROUND WHERE YOU LIVE.
- OOH, I SHOULD BOOKMARK THAT SITE.
I'LL BET THERE'S TONS OF BEAUTIFUL PICTURES ON THERE.
- WE ALSO HAVE A STUDENT PROGRAM CALLED EARTHKAM,
AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO ON NASA.GOV AND FIND EARTHKAM
AND SEE WHAT PRODUCTS THAT STUDENTS AROUND THE WORLD
HAVE TAKEN BY PROGRAMMING A CAMERA,
A CAMERA THAT WE PUT IN A WINDOW HERE.
IT'S A CAMERA JUST LIKE THIS,
AND IT OFTEN HAS THIS LENS ON IT,
A 180-MILLIMETER LENS.
WE PUT IT IN THE CAMERA, CONNECT IT UP TO A COMPUTER,
AND THE STUDENTS THAT PARTICIPATE IN EARTHKAM
ARE ABLE TO PROGRAM THE TIME
THAT THEY WANT THE CAMERA TO TAKE A PICTURE,
AND THEY CAN PREDICT WHERE THE ISS,
WHERE THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION,
WILL BE OVER LAND AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
SO IF YOU KNOW THAT AND YOU KNOW THE ISS
IS PASSING OVER A FEATURE OF THE EARTH
THAT THE STUDENTS ARE INTERESTED IN
AND THEY KNOW THE EXACT TIME THAT THEY'RE PASSING IT,
THEY PROGRAM THE CAMERA AND TAKE THE PICTURE.
SO YOU, TOO, CAN GO ON THE INTERNET
AND LOOK THROUGH THE PRODUCTS ON THE EARTHKAM PROGRAM.
- WOW, I'M GONNA HAVE TO TELL MY BIG SISTER ABOUT EARTHKAM.
SHE'S IN MIDDLE SCHOOL NOW.
MAYBE HER CLASS CAN GET INVOLVED IN TAKING PICTURES
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
SO WHAT DID WE LEARN TODAY?
WE LEARNED THAT EARTH
HAS MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF TERRAIN
AND ASTRONAUTS TAKE PICTURES OF ALL OF IT.
WE LEARNED THAT ASTRONAUTS CAN SEE HUMAN-BUILT STRUCTURES
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
AND WE LEARNED THAT STUDENTS CAN TAKE PICTURES FROM THE ISS
THROUGH THE EARTHKAM PROGRAM.
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN ASTRONAUT
OR THE EARTHKAM PROGRAM, VISIT:
SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON "OUR WORLD."
SAY, "CHEESE."
[camera shutter clicks]
- "OUR WORLD."