Space selfie

File:ISS-32 American EVA b3 Aki Hoshide.jpg astronaut Akihiko Hoshide took a space selfie in September 2012]]

The first known space selfie (during an EVA - an earlier shot inside the capsule was taken on Gemini 10 by Michael Collins) was taken by Buzz Aldrin during the Gemini 12 mission.{{cite web|title=Did you know I took the first space selfie during Gemini 12 mission in 1966? BEST SELFIE EVER|url=https://twitter.com/TheRealBuzz/status/490293546851635201|publisher=Buzz Aldrin (Twitter)|accessdate=21 July 2014}}

The extra-vehicular activity (EVA) equipment used by astronauts during spacewalks contains a specially designed camera for photography in outer space. The main purpose of the EVA camera is to take pictures of the subjects related to the missions.{{cite web|title=IMAGE: Nikon F5 EVA Camera New Space Walk Camera|url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-103/eva/camera/camera.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021022133152/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-103/eva/camera/camera.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 October 2002|publisher=NASA|accessdate=27 December 2013}}

There have been many space selfies, some of which use the visor of another astronaut's helmet as the mirror. Early space selfies after the word "selfie" was first used in 2002 without assistance from another astronaut included Donald Pettit and Stephen Robinson. Pettit took one during the Expedition 6 in January 2003.{{cite web|last=Howell|first=Elizabeth|title=Best Ever Astronaut 'Selfies'|url=http://www.universetoday.com/105234/best-ever-astronaut-selfies/|publisher=Universe Today|accessdate=27 December 2013|date=3 October 2013}} Robinson took his during the repair of the Space Shuttle Discovery{{cite news|title=Self-portraits and social media: The rise of the 'selfie'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22511650|accessdate=27 December 2013|newspaper=BBC News Magazine|date=6 June 2013}} on August 3, 2005, as part of the STS-114 mission.{{cite web|title=STS-114 Shuttle Mission Imagery S114-E-6338|url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-114/html/s114e6338.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050806002148/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-114/html/s114e6338.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 August 2005|publisher=NASA|accessdate=27 December 2013}}

Another notable space selfie was taken by Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide during the six-hour, 28-minute spacewalk on September 5, 2012.{{cite web|title=International Space Station Imagery ISS032-E-025258|url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-32/html/iss032e025258.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919235953/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-32/html/iss032e025258.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 September 2012|publisher=NASA|accessdate=27 December 2013}}{{cite news|last=Day|first=Elizabeth|title=How selfies became a global phenomenon|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jul/14/how-selfies-became-a-global-phenomenon|accessdate=27 December 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=13 July 2013}} Hoshide's photo became a viral phenomenon after Commander Chris Hadfield uploaded the photo to his Twitter account on September 30, 2013.{{cite news|title=Chris Hadfield Tweets A Selfie In Space (PHOTO)|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/30/chris-hadfield-photo-selfie_n_4017639.html|accessdate=27 December 2013|newspaper=The Huffington Post Canada|date=30 September 2013}} Coincidentally, Oxford University Press, the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, announced in November 2013 that "selfie" was the word of the year for 2013.{{cite news|last=Hui|first=Sylvia|title=Oxford Dictionaries: 'Selfie' is word of the year|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131119/NATION/311190036|accessdate=27 December 2013|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=19 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227160742/http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131119/NATION/311190036|archive-date=27 December 2013}} The picture topped many selfie lists of the year.{{cite news|title=Seven of the best selfies you will see today: As selfie is named word of the year, we round up seven of the best|url=http://metro.co.uk/2013/11/19/seven-of-the-best-selfies-you-will-see-today-as-selfie-is-named-word-of-the-year-we-round-up-seven-of-the-best-4192268/|accessdate=27 December 2013|newspaper=Metro|date=19 November 2013}}{{cite news|title=Obama caught snapping 'funeral selfie': Craziest selfies of all time|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/best-selfies-time-gallery-1.1522211?pmSlide=1.1522187|accessdate=27 December 2013|newspaper=NY Daily News}} Another space selfie of Hoshide also showed up on Instagram and appeared on a list of top selfies of 2013.{{cite news|last=Gordon|first=Naomi|title=8 surprising celebrity selfies: Pope Francis, Darth Vader and the Obamas|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrity/best-in-showbiz/a537500/8-surprising-celebrity-selfies-pope-francis-darth-vader-and-the-obamas.html|accessdate=27 December 2013|newspaper=Digital Spy|date=11 December 2013}}

Space selfies can be dated back to 1976 when the lander of the Viking 2 mission took the photo of its deck after landing on Mars; however they were not considered by Discovery News as true selfies in its list of top 10 space robot selfies.

In 1989, the Galileo spacecraft took a selfie using its near-infrared mapping spectrometer (NIMS). The image was taken in order to judge how parts of the spacecraft would block the instrument's view. The resulting image was fuzzy and warped by Galileo{{'}}s spin.{{cite book |last1=Ulivi |first1=Paolo |last2=Harland |first2=David M |date=2009 |title=Robotic Exploration of the Solar System Part 2: Hiatus and Renewal |publisher=Praxis Publishing |pages=218–219 |isbn=9780387789040 }}

An unusual approach was taken in 2010 by IKAROS, launched by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It included two wireless cameras that were ejected out of the spacecraft for the sole purpose of taking "hand free" space selfies. A blog entry about the photos was posted in 2010 and the link was posted on Twitter in 2013.

File:Orbital Express 3.jpg spacecraft]]

On June 22, 2007, DARPA's Orbital Express spacecraft captured perhaps the first space selfie by an autonomous robot.{{Cite web |title=On-Orbit Mission Updates |url=http://archive.darpa.mil/orbitalexpress/mission_updates.html |access-date=2018-08-01 |website=archive.darpa.mil}} Taken near the end of mission on July 22, 2007, the selfie was intended to capture a family portrait of the two spacecraft in a mated configuration. The selfie shows the ASTRO "servicing satellite" at left, and the NEXTSat "client satellite" at right.{{Cite web |title=Orbital Express |url=http://archive.darpa.mil/orbitalexpress/ |access-date=2018-08-01 |website=archive.darpa.mil}} The robot arm used to capture the selfie can be seen in white at the bottom of the frame. The photo has a dark, high-contrast quality to it due to the use of the arm-mounted camera, not intended for general photography, but used to autonomously track and acquire the NEXTSat.

{{see also|Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory#Self-portraits}}

File:PIA16239 High-Resolution Self-Portrait by Curiosity Rover Arm Camera.jpg]]

Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, was equipped with the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera. It can maneuver its robotic arm and turn the attached camera around to take its head shots.{{cite news|last=Madrigal|first=Alexis|title=Mars Curiosity Rover Takes a Selfie|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/mars-curiosity-rover-takes-a-selfie/262181/|accessdate=1 January 2014|newspaper=The Atlantic|date=10 September 2012}} Discovery News described the maneuver as the way to take a truly authentic selfie and gave it the title King of Selfies in 2013.{{cite web|last=O'Neill|first=Ian|title=Top 10 Space Robot 'Selfies': Photos|url= http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space/top-10-space-robot-selfies-photos-131204.htm |pages=1, 2, 10|publisher=Discovery News|accessdate=27 December 2013|date=5 December 2013}}

The first space selfie on another planet was taken by the Curiosity rover{{cite news|last=Trei|first=Michael|title=Pictured: Curiosity takes first ever Mars 'selfie'|url=http://www.dvice.com/archives/2012/09/curiosity_acts.php|accessdate=27 December 2013|newspaper=DVICE|date=10 September 2012}}{{cite news|last=Kalinchuk|first=Andrew|title=Mars rover, Curiosity, takes a self-portrait and shares it with the world|url=http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/curiosity-takes-self-portrait-shares-with-world/|accessdate=1 January 2014|newspaper=Digital Trends|date=9 September 2012}} on September 7, 2012, based on the local time at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the base of the operations in Pasadena, California. It was taken while the clear dust cover of the lens was closed giving a blurry image.{{cite web|title=Rover Takes Self Portrait (ID#: PIA16149)|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA16149|publisher=NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems|accessdate=27 December 2013}} The image was slightly modified and posted on its Facebook account on September 8, 2012, with the message:{{cite web|title=Facebook status|url=https://www.facebook.com/110938085622842/posts/407444455972202|publisher=NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover|accessdate=1 January 2014}}

{{Blockquote|Hello, Gorgeous! Snapped this self portrait while inspecting my MAHLI camera with its dust cover intentionally left on. This was a test to make sure the cover, its hinge the area it sweeps when it opens are clear of debris.|NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover|https://www.facebook.com/MarsCuriosity}}

On November 19, 2013,{{cite web|title=@MarsCuriosity Twitter status|url=https://www.twitter.com/MarsCuriosity/status/402878617840918528?screen_name=MarsCuriosity|publisher=Twitter|accessdate=29 December 2013}} one day after Oxford announced that "selfie" was the word of the year, the @MarsCuriosity Twitter account posted a space selfie with the message:{{cite web|title='Selfie': the interplanetary Word of the Year 2013|url=http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/11/interplanetary-woty/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131125211913/http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/11/interplanetary-woty/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 25, 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|accessdate=29 December 2013}}

{{Blockquote|Oh, @OxfordWords... Need an illustration for #WOTYselfie? For your consideration. pic.twitter.com/EKNafzYsyp|@MarsCuriosity|https://www.twitter.com/MarsCuriosity}}

In February 2018, the Opportunity rover used its MER Microscopic Imager to take a selfie to mark 5,000 sols on Mars. The MER Microscopic Imager has a fixed focus and a fairly narrow field of view resulting in the selfie having to be made up of a series of stitched, out of focus shots. In order to reduce the amount of data that needed to be transmitted the images were scaled down in size and compressed before being transmitted from the rover. This was the first time images from the MER Microscopic Imager had been scaled down by the rover.{{cite web |url=http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2018/20180420-opportunity-selfie-5000.html |title=The Opportunity selfie: 5000 Sols in the making |last=Ellison |first=Doug |date=20 April 2018 |website=Planetary.org |publisher=The Planetary Society |access-date=7 June 2018}}

File:Curiosity first space selfie (raw image).jpg|The raw image of the first space selfie taken by the Curiosity rover

File:PIA22222-Mars-OpportunityRover-FirstSelfie-20180220.jpg|Space selfie of Opportunity rover

File:JWST Nircam alignment selfie labeled.jpg of the James Webb Space Telescope reflected in the secondary mirror]]

During a brief period, an alternative method was presented as available by which a person could, without being in outer space, indirectly take space selfies. This was promoted as part of the crowdfunding efforts for the Planetary Resources's ARKYD mission. The ARKYD "space selfie" method would have allowed donors to upload their own photos to the telescope orbiting the Earth; the telescope would have had a robotic arm equipped with a camera and a small screen to display the picture of the donor on one surface of the telescope, and the on-screen image of the donor was to be visible to the lower part of the camera (with the Earth as the background) allowing a space selfie to be taken.{{cite news|title=Planetary Resources raises $1.5m on Kickstarter to let you take selfies from space|url=http://blogs.ft.com/tech-blog/2013/07/planetary-resources-raises-1-5m-on-kickstarter-to-let-you-take-selfies-from-space/|accessdate=27 December 2013|newspaper=Financial Times|date=19 July 2013}}{{cite news|last=Tickle|first=Glen|title=Crowdfunded ARKYD Space Telescope Lets You Put Your Face in Space, Take Space Selfies|url=http://www.geekosystem.com/arkyd-telescope-kickstarter/|accessdate=27 December 2013|newspaper=Geek System|date=22 June 2013}}{{cite news|url=http://www.techtimes.com/articles/161525/20160528/space-exploration-company-planetary-resources-cancels-space-selfie-kickstarter-backed-project.htm|title=Space Exploration Company Planetary Resources Cancels 'Space Selfie' Kickstarter-Backed Project}}

A similar service was launched in 2014 by Belgian startup SpaceBooth.{{cite web|title=SpaceBooth|url=http://www.spacebooth.org}} The SpaceBooth Low Earth Orbit pico-satellite will project uploaded images in front of a transparent window and then take a picture of the projection with space in the background. The space selfie will then be sent back to the Earth.{{cite web|title=SpaceBooth FAQ|url=http://www.spacebooth.org/wp-content/uploads/SPB_FAQ.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327221116/http://www.spacebooth.org/wp-content/uploads/SPB_FAQ.pdf|archive-date=2014-03-27}}

In November 2019, Spelfie, the selfie from space, was launched to allow users to take a selfie at the exact time that a satellite camera captures their location from space.{{cite web|title=Spelfie|url=http://www.spelfie.com}}

Users of the app click on the event they are attending, then, once they are at the venue, the app provides coordinates so the user knows precisely where to position themselves and at what time. They then take a photo of themselves at the moment the satellite is taking its photo and later the same day the app sends back the satellite image juxtaposed with the selfie to be viewed in its gallery.

The tool, which uses Airbus satellites, was demonstrated as part of a BBC documentary showing a village of people spelling out the words Act Now on a beach in Bali, with the image captured on camera from space.

Spelfie is primarily aimed at people attending major sports and cultural events but for its second phase of development, the app will extend beyond specific events and allow users to give a specific location anywhere in the world, and be alerted if the satellite is going to pass overhead.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/nov/20/app-satellite-selfies-from-space|title=Guardian|date=20 November 2019 |access-date=2019-11-20 |last1=Choat |first1=Isabel }}

CrunchLabs, founded by YouTuber Mark Rober, plans to offer space selfies as a service via its satellite SatGus. Customers can upload their selfies, which are then displayed on the satellite's external screen and photographed using an onboard camera with Earth in the background.{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KcV1C1Ui5s |title=I Tried Building My Own Space Satellite |website=YouTube |last=Rober |first=Mark |date=2024-11-29 |access-date=2025-03-20}}

• The Blue Marble
• The Day the Earth Smiled
• First images of Earth from space
• Pale Blue Dot

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{commons category-inline|Space selfies}}

{{In space|state=expanded}}

{{Photography}}

Category:2000s neologisms

Category:Astrophotography

Category:Internet culture

Category:Spaceflight

Category:Selfies