Russia to send 'stress-relief' software to space station

Mexico City, May 16 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A flash drive with stress-relief software for crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) will be taken to space by Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin soon.

The software was designed by the Russian Union of Nature Photographers, with the assistance of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament.

According to Oleg Panteleyev, who along with other members of the upper chamber assisted the project, said the software is, in fact, a slideshow of thousands of photographs of nature, accompanied by relaxing music.

"Most importantly, photographs will be synchronized with the current position of the ISS. If the space station flies, for example, above Canada, the software will display Canadian landscapes, as well as birds and animals native to the area. When the ISS is above the Far East, cosmonauts' personal monitors will show images of Far Eastern flora and fauna," Panteleyev told RIA Novosti Thursday.

"We are convinced that such programme will be very useful for astronauts, who are unable to see terrestrial landscapes for months, and of course, miss it," he added.

Yurchikhin, along with Karen Nyberg of the US and Luca Parmitano of Italy, will fly to space onboard the Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft May 28.

--IANS/RIA Novosti

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