新闻万花筒：少年拍摄堪比NASA的照片【上海学生英文报】

Teenager Takes “NASA” Pictures

A teenager has captured some amazing images of the Earth. They look like they could be the latest images taken from a multi-million pound NASA satellite but these stunning snaps were actually taken from a ￡30 camera bought off eBay.

Adam Cudworth, 19, managed to capture these incredible views of the Earth from space using little more than a balloon and his second-hand camera.

Cudworth placed the second-hand camera he had bought in an insulated box along with a small video camera, two temperature sensors, two high-performance solar panels, a tracking device, microprocessor and radio. He then attached it to a high-altitude latex balloon with a parachute and named his invention HABE 5. The balloon climbed to three times the height of a commercial plane before it burst and landed 30 miles from his home. He then retrieved the camera which had recorded stunning snaps and video footage of the Earth from space.

And while NASA spends hundreds of millions of pounds each year on high tech satellites, Adam, whose scientific background consists of only a Physics A-Level, achieved his incredible feat—on a ￡200 budget.

The teenager, who studies at the Nottingham University, said, “It’s just a bit of hobby really; I just wanted to set myself a challenge—but I’m amazed at the results. I have no background in astrophysics  or anything like that; I’m just an engineering student.”

“People think it’s something that costs millions of pounds but I’ve proved you can do it on just a ￡200 budget,” he added.