The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency has released the first set of images and videos taken by its debut zero-gravity camera drone or „Int-Ball, “ the cute orb of a drone, will optimize communication between crew in space and on Earth.
Int-Ball arrived in space at „Kibo, “ which is the Japanese Experiment Module on the International Space Station, on June 4 this year. The photos were disclosed by JAXA on July 14.
The 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) limbless sphere — which spans just six inches (15 centimeters) — is currently on duty to take photos and videos of astronauts at work.
These will display in real-time to researchers on Earth at the JAXA Tsukuba Space Center, from where scientists on the ground can themselves control Int-Ball and its camera.
JAXA says its astronauts currently spend 10% of their working hours photographing their findings. There’s also a huge lag between the astronauts capturing the images and sending them to the crew on Earth.
