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| Documenting Changes on our Home Planet |
| Crew Earth Observations With much of their time committed to construction of the International Space Station, astronauts and cosmonauts also are beginning their first scientific studies. They will be photographing the Earth’s surface as part of an early payload, Crew Earth Observations. By keeping crew members active in observing the Earth, NASA is paving the way for a number of future Earth observing payloads that will place cameras and remote sensing instruments in an optical-quality window that is part of the U.S. Laboratory Module. Since early space missions in the 1960s, astronauts have photographed the Earth below, observing the world’s geography and documenting transient events like storms, floods, fires, and volcanic eruptions. Over the years, astronauts have also documented human impacts on the Earth — city growth, agricultural expansion, and reservoir construction. Today, images of the world from 10, 20 or 30 years ago provide valuable insight into Earth processes and the effects of human developments. Photographic images taken by astronauts serve as both primary data on the state of the Earth and as secondary data to be combined with images from other satellites in orbit. Through their photography of the Earth, ISS astronauts will build on the time series of imagery started 35 years ago—insuring that this record of Earth remains unbroken. Crew Earth Observations will focus on some of the most dramatic examples of change on the Earth’s surface. Target sites include major deltas in south and east Asia; coral reefs; smog-prone urban regions; areas experiencing major floods or droughts triggered by El Niño cycles, high altitude glaciers (reflecting longer-term climate changes), faults associated with major tectonic plate boundaries, and features on Earth, like impact craters, that are analogs to structures on other planets, like Mars. The Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center has provided a set of fact sheets as examples to better explain the science and applications behind some of these sites. Although today’s Earth observations made by astronauts are similar to those from historic space missions — crew members still use hand-held film cameras — they also use an electronic still camera that allows for near-real time image downlink and quick analysis. The first image of Earth downlinked from the ISS is posted at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=4436 . All of the imagery is cataloged and added to the database maintained at the Johnson Space Center by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory. Through today’s digital technologies and global networking, the catalog of imagery is available to scientists, educators, and the public at http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov. |
