You probably thought you'd already seen the geekiest moments from the International Space Station (ISS). But astronaut Scott Kelly just upped the ante by pulling off what we think is a first: augmented reality in space.
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We've had astronauts singing space-inspired rock songs, performing weightless experiments and even donning Star Trek uniforms from the confines of the ISS. But Kelly's AR use, via the Microsoft HoloLens, aboard the space station is truly taking geek cred to the next level.
The tweet from Kelly showed up on Saturday as the astronaut marked another day of his crew's year-long mission in space.
This #saturdaymorning checked out the @Microsoft #HoloLens aboard @Space_Station! Wow! #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/OZlWmzWjsY— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) February 20, 2016
It should come as no surprise that the HoloLens would pop up on the ISS as NASA tested the device last year on its Weightless Wonder C9 jet.
That experiment was called Project Sidekick and was devoted to harnessing the AR powers of the HoloLens to help astronauts communicate with ground operators as well as more effectively use existing devices on the ISS.
Kelly didn't elaborate on exactly how he's using the device up there so, for now, we'll have to be satisfied with the incredibly cool image.
Nevertheless, based on what we already know about the $3,000 device, the HoloLens could serve as an important tool in the near future for common operations aboard the ISS, such as complex repairs while in orbit.