Crewmembers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are privy to some of the most stunning, exclusive views available to mankind, such as passing by the face of the sun.
Unveiled in a press release Tuesday, NASA shared the ISS' view of the sun as the low-orbit science lab passed it by traveling approximately five miles per hour.
Taking in the view were NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren; Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Kornienko, Oleg Kononenko, and Sergey Volkov; Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, and Kazakhstan cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov.
Kelly and Kornienko, two seasoned ISS veterans, are participating in an experiment in which they will spend a year in space to test the long-term effects of living in space. They are roughly halfway through the mission.
"I'm not saying I'm not psyched up for the rest of (the mission), but in some ways almost being halfway through, a lot of what we're going to be doing is similar to what we've already done. I'm excited for the folks who get to go to Mars someday," Discovery News quoted Kelly telling reporters during an inflight press conference. "I don't think you can do this like you can a six-month mission."
The ISS is currently carrying nine crewmembers, three more than it typically does.
"It's very lively," Yui told reporters through a translator, "I'm enjoying working in a large group."
