This is a
very interesting interview with astronaut Marsha Ivins in which she discusses her work on the film
A Beautiful Planet.
Marsha Ivins is a space veteran - a survivor, some would strongly argue - of five space shuttle missions, clocking up more than 1300 hours in space.
In 2002 she worked with documentary director Toni Myers on the Imax film Space Station 3D . She again teamed up with her to serve as a consultant to produce A Beautiful Planet 3D.
Modest to a fault, Ivins - born in Baltimore in 1951 - is a remarkable person who self-effacingly describes herself as "an engineer" despite being an accomplished pilot as well as one of the world's most seasoned astronauts. In 2001 on her fifth and final flight, she served as a mission specialist on the Atlantis space shuttle that delivered the laboratory Destiny to the International Space Station.
Ivins says the latest Imax space film comes closest to recreating the experience of viewing Earth from orbit.