Russian Amateurs Launch Globe To The Edge Of Space

Everyone loves a great homemade, photo-snapping, high-atmosphere balloon. But what about one carrying a globe with a little Buzz Lightyear figure standing on top? That has to be even cooler, right? Right. Thanks, Russian guys.

The team’s unlikely-looking design used pretty standard methods to carry the special cargo above the clouds: hydrogen, a balloon, and a parachute. Throw in a GSM tracker and some GoPros, and the thing’s a pretty special floater. Those GoPros weren’t just along for the ride – the globe package snapped pictures of a lunar eclipse, and the Russian cityscape below. [English Russia]