NASA astronaut takes stunning photo during spacewalk

Zee Media Bureau/Philaso G Kaping

New Delhi: NASA has released a photo of astronaut Mike Hopkins while he was spacewalking on December 24, 2013. The photo, which at first looks like a selfie, was taken by fellow astronaut Rick Mastracchio outside the International Space Station. It shows Hopkins floating in space with Earth in the background. If you look close enough you will see the image of Mastracchio with a camera in Hopkins` helmet visor. The pair, both Expedition 38 flight engineers, were repairing a coolant whose internal control valve failed on December 11. They floated outside the space station for seven-and-a-half hours. “The pump module controls the flow of ammonia through cooling loops and radiators outside the space station, and, combined with water-based cooling loops inside the station, removes excess heat into the vacuum of space,” said NASA.