So what can you do with a Nikon Coolpix point-and-shoot camera? Well, many people take them along when they travel, but seldom like this. High school students at the IES La Bisbal School in Spanish Catalonia sent their Nikon Coolpix into the stratosphere with a heavy-duty helium-filled balloon. The camera sailed 20 miles above the earth and returned. And managed to take some incredible shots along the way.

The school has put up a gallery on flickr where you can see the equipment used, and the photos from space their Coolpix brought back.