Participants in the International Space University’s 29th Space Studies Program (SSP), currently being held at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, posed for a group photo from space yesterday (July 20th).
The photo, taken from a height of 520 kilometers, shows the 104 program participants lying on the main lawn of Technion campus in Haifa, with their bodies forming the letters ISU – the abbreviation of International Space University.
The photo was taken by the EROS-B satellite. The EROS observation satellites, built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and operated by the Israeli company ImageSat International (ISI), are equipped with a space camera manufactured by El-Op. ISI previously purchased two such satellites and ordered a third satellite last year, far more advanced than the existing models. EROS satellite photos are sold to both civilian and defense customers worldwide.
The highly acclaimed Space Studies Program (SSP) has been conducted annually by the International Space University since 1988. Each summer, it is held in a different host institution in locations spanning the globe. This is the first time it is being held in the Middle East – at Technion in Haifa, Israel. As part of the current session, SSP16, the Technion is hosting lectures and panels that are open to the public, free of charge. All the open events are held in English and require advance registration.