Google rolls out zero gravity 'Street View' tour of the International Space Station

After a first-of-its-kind initiative with the European Space Agency (ESA), Google on Friday rolled out the 'Street View' of the International Space Station (ISS) on Google Maps. Astronaut Thomas Pesquet from the ESA spent six months at the ISS and captured the 'Street View' imagery in zero gravity to help people discover and explore the experience of being in a spaceship.

The still photos collected from the ISS were sent down to Earth where they were stitched together to create a panoramic 360-degree imagery of the ISS. "I am very enthusiastic about bringing street view aboard ISS. It will be a fantastic opportunity for everyone to experience the incredible feeling of being in space," Pesquet said in a statement. "The six months that we spent on the ISS, it was difficult to find the words or take a picture that accurately describes the feeling of being in space. Working with Google on the mission has made me think about my own world a little differently," he added.

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The photos that Pesquet captured include 'Cupola Observation Module', 'US Laboratory Module' and an image of American astronaut Peggy Whitson dining at the galley table with friends and Joint Airlock area that contains space suits also known as Extravehicular Mobility Units. The 'Street View' team worked with NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama to design a gravity-free method of collecting the imagery using DSLR cameras and equipment already on the ISS, the company said.