It is a rare and amazing achievement that we humans have managed to set foot outside the constraints of our lonely planet. And with the prevalence of social media, it is now easier than ever for the humans who are farthest away to communicate with the rest of us down on the ground.
Astronauts stationed on the International Space Station are always finding clever new ways to blow our minds. One such person is Koichi Wakata, the former commander of the ISS, whose gravity-defying photo is currently circling the globe and getting the full Internet meme experience as it does.
Arriving on the ISS in late 2013, Koichi Wakata became the first Japanese commander of the station for Expedition 39, being only the third time the commander was not from Russia or the U.S. While there, Wakata had to think of ways to pass the time; when he wasn’t talking to his robot friend, Kirobo, he was busy taking some incredible pictures utilizing the low-gravity environment that surrounded him.
It is a pretty amazing photo in and of itself, but the creative minds of the Internet are using this pic in their latest Photoshop battle. The meme is making its way across the globe pretty quickly, maybe even 7.66 kilometers/second (4.76 miles/second)— the speed of the ISS.
The Internet community came up with a lot of varied and skillful creations, but here are a few of our favorites.
▼ Bubbles are obviously the theme here, but how did this bubble make it all the way to orbit?
▼ Hope it’s not too sunny out today!
▼ A fresh sugary ball of astronaut goodness for the ants
▼ Check out the attention to detail with the earring
▼ Another piece of famous artwork getting the Koichi Wakata treatment
▼ I’d be a little afraid if my bubbles were coming out looking like this
▼ Although apparently soap bubbles look like this in Japan.
▼ Stretchy Koichi!
▼ We know Koichi hasn’t lost all his marbles. He’s doing his country proud.
▼ Every balloon in the world can fit his face
▼ Koichi, the tank engine
▼ To infinity and beyond!
▼ No one is as excited as this child
▼ Getting some crossed signals in Middle Earth
Do you have a favorite here? The Internet will be happy to play around with pictures, as long as the astronauts up there keep sending us interesting ones. The Japanese astronaut currently onboard the ISS is Yui Kimiya; hopefully he’ll have something equally epic to share via his Twitter feed!
Source: Reddit Photoshop Battles via Yuru Kuyaru
Top image: Imgur
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