Oscars 2014: 'Space exploration isn't fictional' says Nasa with #RealGravity photo set

The US space agency tweeted out its congratulations to the space thriller - but also offered it's own, stunning images to counter

James Vincent
Monday 03 March 2014 10:30 GMT
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In terms of awards, last night’s Oscars were dominated by Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity (the space thriller took home seven gongs including Best Director for the 52-year-old Cuaron) but on Twitter, Nasa was keen to remind the internet that not all images of space are computer generated.

The US space agency countered (or complemented) Gravity’s wins by tweeting out a series of pictures showing off the stunning, real life vistas seen by astronauts in Space.

The photos show views of Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) as well as snaps of the final ever shuttle mission and pictures of astronauts carrying out repair work during space walks.

One image even shows the most adventurous space-walk to date: Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless II is seen free-floating 320 feet away from his ship - further than any astronaut has been before, using a nitrogen jetpack known as the Manned Manoeuvring Unit.

The images were tweeted out by Nasa using the hashtag #RealGravity, and although they might not have attracted as much attention as Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar selfie, to our eyes they’re more impressive and more inspirational than anything Hollywood can offer!

Click here to see the full photo-set released by Nasa

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