Google Street View now lets you explore the International Space Station (ISS). This marks Street View’s first foray into space and gives those of us who will likely never get to visit the ISS a chance to explore all of its 15 modules.
The new imagery lets you walk (drift?) through the different modules and given the complexity of the ISS, Google thankfully provides explanations for some of the equipment you’ll encounter during your sojourn. That’s a first for Street View, too, and something I hope the team will expand to other locations as well. It’s worth noting that on the Space Station, Google also uses this feature to help you move from one module to another.
At the time the astronauts gathered the imagery for this project, one of Space X’s Dragon vehicles was parked at the ISS, which means you can also take a look at how cargo gets delivered to the station.
Unlike an earthbound lab, the ISS design isn’t bound by gravity and that means that you do indeed need a full 360-degree view to take it all in. Sadly, Google’s controls sometimes make it a bit hard to do so, given that the Street View system wasn’t exactly built for this kind of experience.
As with all Street View launches, though, it’s all about clicking through the imagery yourself, so head over to Google Maps and give it a try.
