Nikon today announced that the Russian Federal Space Agency will be taking cameras and Nikkor lenses up to the International Space Station (ISS). Due to launch 16th June, it will be carried to the Russian segment of the station aboard a Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft.

The equipment includes one D3s, two D3X, and four lenses including the 400mm f/2.8 AF-S VR.

Nikon are keen to stress that no special modifications have been made to the equipment, and that they are exactly the same as the versions available to the public.

Nikolay Cherlenyak, director of operations for Energia's ISS program, has commented as follows regarding this order.

The integration of Nikon photographic equipment in space exploration has a long history and goes back to the moment when there first arose the question of photographing research conducted in orbit. It was then when the first Nikon film cameras and NIKKOR lenses, notable for precision and reliability, were sent into space. They had been used even on the station "Mir". Since then, the range of photographic equipment has been frequently supplemented by new products and advanced developments of the Nikon Company. Now with the latest models of Nikon D3S and D3X digital cameras, photography in space will reach a new, previously unattainable level.

Image Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi

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