On 12 February, there will be a live tour of the ISS on Twitch
On Wednesday evening, NASA is broadcasting a livestream from the ISS on Twitch for the first time. There will be a special tour of the space station for viewers.
Twitch is the most popular platform for gaming and just-chatting livestreams. In the past, however, it has also been repeatedly criticised for revealing content. However, NASA's next stream is far removed from such content, quite literally: it takes place on the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS orbits the Earth at a distance of around 400 kilometres.
The stream will be available on 12 February at 17:45 Central European Time on NASA's account. Twitch promises "exciting insights into life in zero gravity". Viewers will be given a tour of the space station and astronaut Don Pettit will report on daily life and current research projects on the ISS. You can also ask questions in the live chat - which may even be answered. You will need a free Twitch account to chat.
This is not NASA's first Twitch livestream. The US space agency regularly broadcasts rocket launches, talks or events such as a solar eclipse here. However, there has never been a stream from the ISS on Twitch. However, NASA's website states that this will be "the first of many" ISS streams. The agency hopes to reach a younger audience and generate interest in space missions through direct interaction opportunities.
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