X

See NASA's crazy 3D video from inside a ball of water in space

Pull out those old red and blue shades to see what it's like to live in orbit at zero gravity, and to watch astronauts grow a floating water ball.

Eric Mack Contributing Editor
Eric Mack has been a CNET contributor since 2011. Eric and his family live 100% energy and water independent on his off-grid compound in the New Mexico desert. Eric uses his passion for writing about energy, renewables, science and climate to bring educational content to life on topics around the solar panel and deregulated energy industries. Eric helps consumers by demystifying solar, battery, renewable energy, energy choice concepts, and also reviews solar installers. Previously, Eric covered space, science, climate change and all things futuristic. His encrypted email for tips is ericcmack@protonmail.com.
Expertise Solar, solar storage, space, science, climate change, deregulated energy, DIY solar panels, DIY off-grid life projects. CNET's "Living off the Grid" series. https://www.cnet.com/feature/home/energy-and-utilities/living-off-the-grid/ Credentials
  • Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Eric Mack
2 min read

iss-water.jpg
Weird science indeed. NASA video screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET

As long as " Interstellar" is still science fiction, the International Space Station offers the best window into what life off-Earth is like, in addition to being the best place around to film an epic music video.

As Chris Hadfield's famous Bowie rendition demonstrates, the crews of international astronauts that have lived on the space station have always been keen to try and convey what the experience is like to the rest of us on Earth without the rocket power to escape the persistent bondage of gravity.

To that end, NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot this footage aboard the ISS back in 2012 using a 3D camera. The floating tour takes you through the confined interior of the station, but the most spectacular views come when Pettit points the camera outside for views of a Russian Soyuz capsule docked to the station above, well...us.

But the really insane clip posted online this week from the astronauts' adventures in microgravity 3D cinematography is the below video that shows how water behaves on board the International Space Station.

Taking advantage of surface tension that causes water to "ball up" rather than bead up like it might on a nonpermeable surface on Earth, the team creates a softball-size sphere of water. They then insert a GoPro camera into the floating water bubble to get a view from the inside out. It is a little mind-bending to watch.

Check it out for yourself. You will need red-blue stereoscopic 3D vision glasses to view the video as it is intended to be seen, or you can watch a regular 2D version here.