JAKARTA – A photographer on Earth, has captured the astronauts who went on a space trip outside the International Space Station (ISS), recently.
The photo, taken by German photographer Sebastian Voltmer, is believed to be the first image of two ISS astronauts walking in space to be obtained from Earth.
He captured American astronaut King Chari and Germany, Matthias Maurer, as they took a six-hour space trip to install cameras and perform maintenance and upgrades on the ISS Station.
What makes it even more fitting is that it was taken from Maurer’s hometown of Sankt Wendel in Germany.
Voltmer, whose astrophotography has featured in exhibitions at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and the Carl Zeiss Planetarium in Stuttgart, called the image a ‘once in a lifetime image’.
Sharing the photo on Twitter last month, he wrote: ‘Yesterday I watched the #spacewalk shortly after sunset. This is the first photo.
‘#ESA #astronaut Matthias Maurer just “climbed” this time. The rod-shaped structure (Canadarm2) is a robotic arm. Greetings from Matthias Maurer’s hometown — great fun. #iss.’
Voltmer said that when he took the photo, he was quick to show German media how it captured Maurer. Immediately the photo went viral.
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“This image of the ISS trajectory was taken on March 23, 2022, in good viewing conditions through my C11 EdgeHD telescope from the hometown of ESA astronaut Dr Matthias Maurer,” Voltmer told Spaceweather.com. “I feel like I’ve just made a once-in-a-lifetime drawing.”
“This is probably the first ground image showing two spacewalkers on the ISS at the same time,” Voltmer added.
Although Voltmer’s image is believed to be the first of two ISS astronauts walking in space, in 2011 amateur photographer Ralph Vandebergh also captured an image of American astronaut Steve Bowen during a spacewalk. Vandebergh is in the robot arm of the Canadarm 2 in the picture.
Reported by Daily Mail, Voltmer initially only saw Maurer in his photo but after taking a little more time to analyze it, with the help of another renowned photographer Phillip Smith, he noticed that Chari was also in sight, perched on Canadarm 2.
Voltmer used the 11-inch Celestron EdgeHD telescope on the GM2000 HPS mount and the ASI290 planetary camera to take the shot.
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