Space Time-Lapse Video: ISS Travels Around The World In 'The Journey Home' (VIDEO)

Ron Garan, the space-tweeting NASA astronaut who returned in September from five-and-a-half-months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), released a video on Monday that he says "is about as close as we can come to show what astronauts see in space."

The video, made from time-lapse photographs taken from the ISS's Cupola observatory module, takes us around the world from Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, North America to South America and Europe to the Middle East, among more than a dozen other journeys. It passes over Hurricanes Katia and Irene and catches a number of lightning bolts in its lens as well.

The ISS orbits the Earth every 90 minutes, and the footage in the video was taken during some of Garan's final "laps" around the planet before returning home.

Finally, we see footage of the Russian Soyuz space capsule -- the very craft containing Garan and two of his fellow Expedition 28 crew mates -- landing back on Earth in Kazakhstan in September.

Garan posted the video, which is set to the music of Peter Gabriel, to Fragile Oasis, a NASA-supported website he founded in 2008 to share his experiences in space and promote the ISS project. It's also a "welcome home" message to three astronauts -- Mike Fossum, Sergei Volkov and Satoshi Furukawa -- who are set to return to Earth this week after six months aboard the station.

To make the video, Garan and Fossum set DSLR cameras to take one picture about every three seconds. Garan says that even though the ISS is traveling at a speed of 17,500 mph, time-lapse photography gives the impression that the space station is traveling even faster.

What do you think? Ready to apply for a job as an astronaut? Let us know in the comments. And be sure to click over to Fragile Oasis for more information about the video, including details about the cameras used to make the movie.

WATCH:

Time Lapse From Space - Literally. The Journey Home. from Fragile Oasis on Vimeo.

Comments

[KJK]

12:29 PM on 11/25/2011

Very beautiful but I found myself wanting a bit slower to take it all in.

[Allyatx]

01:09 PM on 11/22/2011

*tear*

[sunsetter]

12:18 PM on 11/22/2011

Notice all the clouds over the earth. Are you all aware that the climate models being done don't know how to treat clouds in the models - do they reflect sunlight or do they trap heat? Seems kinda important since the earth is enveloped in >50% cloud cover on average. But hey, if it's for THE CAUSE ..........

Stay tuned - Climategate 2.0 is underway. Should be an interesting Thanksgiving weekend, with the CAUSE being discussed pretty regularly.

[Heidi Hoerman]

01:42 PM on 11/23/2011

Oh, give it a rest ...

[sweetnancy44]

11:04 AM on 11/22/2011

Beautiful... I would imagine coming back to earth, and the adjustment to gravity, is difficult. They must feel like they weigh a 1000 lbs. I happen to believe it is worth every penny to continue space exploration.

[joebklyn]

10:44 AM on 11/22/2011

Billions of taxpayer dollars for this?

[ekevil]

10:51 AM on 11/22/2011

I am so tired of people... why don't you go take some kid's lollipop?! I would pay billions of taxpayer dollars to be able to leave the plant and escape people like you.

[joebklyn]

02:03 PM on 11/22/2011

I'll buy you a ticket.

[snahtorhr]

12:14 PM on 11/22/2011

Trillions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of lives spent on unjustifiable wars is OK, then...right? I guess we need to halt spending all advances in science and education. Give me a break!

[CinMI]

08:54 AM on 11/22/2011

Words fail me to describe the beauty of what I just saw...thank you for posting this, Astronaut Garan!

[FozzieFerocious]

07:04 AM on 11/22/2011

Simply mindblowing. I saw this a while ago over on Earthsky.org. Check them out... they're always posting awesome videos like this or terrestrial-shot time lapses of the stars, etc.

[trumphent]

06:57 AM on 11/22/2011

I got completely trapped by all the lightning and the Aurora Australis. I rate this as Catagory 5 Awesome.

[Mundane Egg]

06:49 AM on 11/22/2011

Beautiful - our home. Makes you want to take care of it even more. Peter Gabriel was the best choice for music. Thanks.

[Jon Malone]

06:45 AM on 11/22/2011

arora passover timelapses never get old!! spectacular.

[Varys]

04:55 AM on 11/22/2011

Similar footage here:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111121.html

[Gary Gillett]

04:50 AM on 11/22/2011

One would hope such a vision as this might cause those who seek Gaia harm for profit to see beyond the myopic gains to the bigger picture. One would hope!

[Southrnbelle]

04:45 AM on 11/22/2011

I'll never be an astronaut, but I sure hope to be able to go up before I pass on.

Affordable Space Travel for Everyone!!!

[oneeasyrider]

03:37 AM on 11/22/2011

See what solar panels do for the ISS -- imagine if they were mounted on every residential roof here on the ground -- we would all be flying high, too...toward energy independence with electric cars to follow!

[Southrnbelle]

04:43 AM on 11/22/2011

Amen, Friend!!!

[Chairshot]

08:17 AM on 11/22/2011

For this reason it is very important to protect NASAs budget as it seems they are the only organization receiving funding for developing these technology's. Outside of a goal of Space Exploration the Technology they develop helps us all in many ways that most people never realize From energy efficiency to Medical advancements such as hart pumps and diagnostic equipment, trust me the list is very extensive and only cost the average American $24 a year. Heck I pay more a month for my cell phone which uses allot of this technology.

[simian sez]

02:07 AM on 11/22/2011

Haven't seen anything like that before!

[trumphent]

06:56 AM on 11/22/2011

Even if you have seen something similar, it wouldn't begin to detract from it. A thing of beauty is a joy forever.