You can take a selfie with the Earth using this YouTuber’s satellite

The stunt escalation connected YouTube whitethorn person reached caller heights with Mark Rober’s connection to drawback anyone’s selfie with the satellite Earth utilizing a outer he’s launching into orbit with the assistance of Google and T-Mobile.

Rober is simply a erstwhile NASA technologist who made a sanction for himself connected YouTube by glitter bombing structure pirates, creating the world’s largest Super Soaker, and gathering an obstacle people for squirrels. Now he’s merging his interests with the motorboat of a outer that tin instrumentality photos of anyone’s representation displayed connected a Google Pixel with the Earth — yes, Planet Earth — successful the background.

If you archer Rober wherever you live, helium claims that he’ll instrumentality the selfie portion the outer is located implicit your city, and he’ll archer you precisely erstwhile the photograph is going to beryllium taken, truthful you tin spell extracurricular and technically get successful the changeable twice. The outer is scheduled to beryllium launched by SpaceX successful January 2025 (aboard the Transporter 12 mission), and is acceptable to commencement taking selfie photos a fewer months aft that.

Yes, it’s a full gimmick, and portion Rober and T-Mobile are advertizing the accidental arsenic “free,” I regret to pass you that determination are immoderate strings attached. You’ll request to subscribe to CrunchLabs, which offers engineering-build kits for kids, to get the escaped codification for the outer selfie. (CrunchLab subscriptions tally betwixt $25-$80 annually, depending connected the selected package.) Existing T-Mobile subscribers tin besides get a escaped codification via the T-Life app, and Google Pixel customers are being offered codes arsenic well.

Codes tin beryllium redeemed starting December 3rd at spaceselfie.com. You’ll beryllium directed to upload your selfie, aft which you’ll person an email allowing you to way erstwhile your selfie volition beryllium taken.

Rober has a full YouTube video explaining the mechanics of the selfie-taking satellite. There are really 2 cameras and 2 Google Pixel phones mounted connected either broadside of the outer for redundancy, and the full happening is powered by an expansive star array, sending vigor to a 120Wh artillery pack.

This really creates a unsocial occupation for the satellite, which needs to beryllium facing astatine slightest 3 antithetic ways for star vigor collection, selfie taking, and the sending and receiving of pictures — with nary propellors oregon thrusters to assistance alteration positions. To lick this, Rober’s squad installed a flywheel wrong the outer to assistance it alteration positions depending connected which enactment it’s performing. Pretty smart.