Orbiting Astronaut Self-Portrait
Is it art?
Earlier this month, space station astronaut
Aki Hoshide
(Japan) recorded
this striking image while helping to augment the capabilities of the Earth-orbiting
International Space Station (ISS).
Visible in this outworldly assemblage is the Sun,
the Earth, two portions of a robotic arm, an astronaut's spacesuit,
the deep darkness of space, and the unusual camera taking the picture.
This image joins other historic -- and possibly
artistic --
self-portraits
taken
previously in space.
The Expedition 32 mission
ended yesterday when an attached capsule undocked with the ISS and
returned some of the crew to Earth.