You can now get space selfie with earth in the background for free, thanks to this YouTuber’s wild idea

The project, titled Space Selfie, runs under the umbrella of Rober's company CrunchLabs and was a $5 million personal investment of his. The satellite, lovably nicknamed SAT GUS, was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base on January 14, 2025. The mission is meant to mix in some public engagement with space tech in a fun, interactive manner.

Hyderabad: A former NASA engineer and YouTube star Mark Rober has sent a satellite into the orbit with an unusual opportunity for anyone on Earth to take a selfie-a breathtaking picture of the Earth as the backdrop.

The project, titled Space Selfie, runs under the umbrella of Rober’s company CrunchLabs and was a $5 million personal investment for the satellite, lovably nicknamed SAT GUS, was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base on January 14, 2025. The mission is meant to mix in some public engagement with space tech in a fun, interactive manner.

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SAT GUS zooms around the Earth at 17,000 mph, hovering some 375 miles above its surface. It is equipped with a Google Pixel screen and carries a high-resolution Redwire Argus camera. The process is, users upload a family-friendly selfie onto the Space Selfie website, the selfie is displayed on the satellite screen, the camera clicks a picture of it with Earth in the background, and finally, the image is beamed down to Earth for free.

Everybody above 13 years of age can participate in the event, though strict content guidelines are enforced. The first batch of selfies is expected to return back to Earth by mid-2025 summer, upon which users will get them mailed to their email.

The satellite was named after CrunchLabs’ squirrel mascot, Phat Gus, giving the mission a personal feel. “You can’t spell ‘ingenious’ without GUS,” the company jokers added.

Rober’s Space Selfie is hitting the notice boards on Reddit and social media alike, letting the rarities of mankind take part in the making of history-one selfie at a time.

Click here to send your picture: https://www.spaceselfie.com/