Let's take five minutes to forget the politics. Forget the economics. Forget the arguments, broken promises and canceled rockets.
This is a snapshot from the International Space Station by Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi of NASA's Stephen Robinson playing his guitar in the bay of the new cupola installed by Shuttle Endeavour.
The STS-130 mission has proven to be highly successful, installing the last module (Tranquility) and the Italian-made window, giving the space station residents an unprecedented view of the cosmos.
BIG PIC: Shuttle Endeavour undocks from the International Space Station.
Now the space station is 98 percent complete, this huge piece of orbital real estate can be used to its full potential. And for the men and women at an altitude of 200 miles, this "full potential" includes taking some time to soak in the view though the crystal-clear panes of the cupola.
Explorers throughout history have found ways to take some "time out" from their adventures. Whether that's sipping a cup of Earl Grey during an Everest ascent, playing the harmonica during an epic cattle drive across Texas, stopping to take photos of a mammoth glacier in the Arctic or driving a golf ball across the lunar surface; us humans like to soak up the atmosphere and feel the emotion of doing something only a small handful of people have done before.
And here, just before he departed from the station on Endeavour, STS-130 mission specialist Stephen Robinson played a tune in the new bay window of the space station. I'm sure this particular explorer took a moment to soak in the atmosphere of that moment.
"http://twitpic.com/149to9 - STS-130 MS-2 Stevie "Ray" Robinson in Studio Cupola. Let the world hear his strings from above. Max Q at Max H :-)" -- Tweet from Soichi Noguchi
Image credit: NASA/Soichi Noguchi
Tags: Space Culture, Space People, Space Shuttle, Space Station, Space Technology
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