Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- T-Mobile is offering its customers a free opportunity to have their selfies photographed in space.
- Mark Rober’s satellite will launch in January 2025 and capture images of user-submitted selfies against the backdrop of Earth.
- T-Mobile customers can claim their free space selfie code through the T-Mobile Tuesdays app on December 3.
T-Mobile customers, get ready for a celestial photo op like no other. While it won’t be physically launching anyone into orbit, T-Mobile will be offering its customers a chance to have their selfies photographed in space.
This unique project, known as “Space Selfie,” is the brainchild of Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer turned popular YouTuber known for his creative engineering projects and entertaining science experiments. Rober has teamed up with CrunchLabs to launch a satellite named SAT GUS that will orbit Earth and capture images of a Google Pixel phone displaying your selfie with the breathtaking backdrop of our planet.
SAT GUS will hitch a ride on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket during the Transporter 12 mission, departing from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. Once in orbit, the satellite can schedule selfies when your location is visible from space, taking approximately 1,000 photos daily. With limited slots, it’s first-come, first-served for all participants.
Here’s where T-Mobile steps in. As part of its popular T-Mobile Tuesdays program, the company is giving its customers free access to a Space Selfie. Starting December 3, T-Mobile users can redeem a code via the T-Life app and upload their chosen selfie to spaceselfie.com. Once submitted, participants will receive updates tracking when and where their selfie will be taken in orbit.
T-Mobile isn’t the only partner in this galactic selfie mission. CrunchLabs is also offering codes to its active subscribers and to anyone who donates $30 or more to sponsor a future engineer. Google Pixel users will also have a chance to get their codes for these space selfies, though we don’t know which Pixel owners are eligible.
While the Space Selfie is undeniably fun, it’s also part of a broader mission. CrunchLabs hopes the initiative will ignite interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) among young people. For those who want to support a good cause while securing their space selfie, CrunchLabs is offering codes to anyone who donates $30 or more to sponsor a future engineer. Donations will benefit FIRST Robotics and Google.org.
The first batch of selfies will start rolling in a few months after the satellite’s launch in early 2025. It’s important to note that all returned selfies will be publicly viewable on the Space Selfie website.
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