Japan’s Space Drone “Int-Ball” Sends Back First ISS Images and Videos

Japan’s zero gravity space drone has started sending pictures and videos from the International Space Station (ISS) back down to earth.

The Japan Electronic Materials (JEM) Internal Ball Camera, or Int-Ball as it was nicknamed, hovers around the space station on its own accord and captures images and video of the astronauts to send back to ground. 

Int-Ball is operated out of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center in Tsukuba, a city located in Japan’s northern Kantō region.

The video below (subtitled in Japanese) shows the construction of the drone and a few videos from Int-Ball itself. 

Aside from being perhaps the cutest machine ever created, the purpose of Int-Ball is to reduce the time spent by astronauts recording and photographing on-board conditions. These tasks account for 10% of total working hours according to JAXA.

Int-Ball uses existing drone technology to operate and its inner and outer structure was created through 3D-printing. JAXA wants the drone to be capable of moving anywhere at anytime via autonomous flight, thereby improving the cooperation between astronauts on the ISS and researchers on the ground.

Int-Ball was delivered to the ISS by a US rocket that launched on June 4.

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