Satellite Earth Observations

Aerial views of diverse landscapes, including craters and mountain ranges, captured from space, displaying natural topography and geological features.

Earth Observations during Expedition 69. iss069e028771 (July 4, 2023) --- The snow-covered peak of the extinct Volcano Chachani is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above the Peruvian Andes on the South American continent.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

Color Image of Layers in Holden Crater, a Candidate MSL Landing Site

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

Monturaqui Meteor Impact Crater, Chile, True Colour Satellite Image. True colour satellite image of Monturaqui impact structure, Chile (age : 1 million years ; diameter : 460 m). Image taken on 27 October 1989 using LANDSAT data.

Earth Observations during Expedition 69. iss069e028771 (July 4, 2023) --- The snow-covered peak of the extinct Volcano Chachani is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above the Peruvian Andes on the South American continent.

The sun's glint beams off Egypt's Lake Nasser, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world near the border with Sudan, in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 257 miles above northeastern Africa.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 37 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as Canada.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

STS073-708-089 (26 October 1995) --- As evidenced by this 70mm photograph from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia, international borders have become easier to see from space in recent decades. This, according to NASA scientists studying the STS-73 photo collection, is particularly true in arid and semi-arid environments. The scientists go on to cite this example of the razor-sharp vegetation boundary between southern Israel and Gaza and the Sinai. The nomadic grazing practices to the south (the lighter areas of the Sinai and Gaza, top left) have removed most of the vegetation from the desert surface. On the north side of the border, Israel uses advanced irrigation techniques in Israel, mainly "trickle irrigation" by which small amounts of water are delivered directly to plant roots. These water-saving techniques have allowed precious supplies from the Jordan River to be used on farms throughout the country. Numerous fields of dark green can be seen in this detail

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 39 crew aboard the ISS. Image downlinked in folder Japan, etc.

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 35 crew aboard the ISS.

iss062e137037 (April 6, 2020) --- The Rio Geba, pictured from the International Space Station, in the west African nation of Guinea-Bissau leads to the Atlantic Ocean.

ISS043E182470 (05/08/2015) --- NASA astronaut Scott Kelly aboard the International Space Station on May 8th, 2015 captured this image in the United States southwest area of lower Lake Powell, Glen Canyon, Utah.

Color satellite image of Las Vegas, Nevada in 1984.

ISS029-E-037471 (3 Nov. 2011) --- EgyptIsrael borderlands, northern Sinai Peninsula and northern Negev Desert are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 29 crew member on the International Space Station. A clearly visible line that marks approximately 50 kilometers of the international border between Egypt and Israel10-60 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea to the northwest (not shown)crosses the center of this photograph from left to right. The reason for the color difference is likely the slightly higher level of grazing by the animal herds of Bedouin herdsmen on the Egyptian side of the border. A major highway also follows the border, making the demarcation more prominent in this recent image taken from the space station. A patch of the Gaza Strip appears under scattered cloud at far right. In the arid to semiarid climate of the region illustrated in the image the natural grass vegetation is sparse at best. Irrigated commercial agriculture in Israel nearest the Medit

Earth observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station. File identifies it as Sahara, and Libya.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows part of the floor of Rabe Crater, a large impact crater in the Southern highlands. Dark dunes cover part of crater's floor, and contrast with the surrounding bright-colored outcrops.

ISS011-E-09680 (27 June 2005) --- Searles Lake, California is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 11 crewmember on the International Space Station. Searles Lake is known for the abundance of rare elements and evaporite minerals, such as trona, hanksite, and halite formed within its sediments. These minerals dissolve in water or very humid environments. According to NASA scientists who are studying the Space Station photography, during the Pleistocene Epoch (beginning approximately two million years ago), Searles Lake was one of a chain of lakes fed by streamflow from the Sierra Nevada to the west. Lake levels rose and fell dependant on glacial outwash from the Sierra Nevada as climates shifted. Successive layers of sediment were deposited as lake levels fluctuated, preserving an important record of regional climate change. The lakes gradually dried up completely as climatic conditions became hotter and drier (as today), forming a string of enclosed basins with no outle

A portion of the Sahara Desert in Algeria, with sand dunes, rocky platforms and sandstone plateaus, is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 259 miles above the African nation.

ISS043E182395 (05/08/2015) --- NASA astronaut Scott Kelly took this picture of the water filled Siwa Oasis in the northwestern Egyptian desert. Water is also treasured within the International Space Station where recycling plays an important role in conserving and reusing the precious life giving liquid.

Earth observation taken during a day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS).

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

ISS013-E-75141 (2 Sept. 2006) --- Erg Oriental, Algeria is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 13 crewmember onboard the International Space Station. One of the main interests of rainless regions like the Sahara Desert to landscape science is that the work of flowing water--mainly streams and rivers--becomes less important than the work of wind. According to scientists, over millennia, and if enough sand is available, winds can generate dunes of enormous size, arranged in regular patterns. Long, generally north-south trending linear dunes stretch across much of northeast Algeria covering a vast tract (approximately 140,000 kilometers square) of the Sahara Desert known as the Erg Oriental. Erg means dune sea in Arabic, and the term has been adopted into modern geology. Spanning this image diagonally are a series of two kilometer-wide linear dunes, comprised of red sand, from a point on the southwest margin of the erg (center point 28.9N 4.8W). The dune chains are mor

ISS011-E-09646 (27 June 2005) --- Lightning was the suspected cause of this giant wildfire, raging through an area northeast of Phoenix on Monday. This picture, taken shortly after 9 a.m. (CDT), is one of a series of images photographed by Astronaut John Phillips, Expedition 11 flight engineer and NASA ISS science officer, aboard the orbiting complex, flying at an altitude of 220 miles.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter captured this view of its footprints during Flight 66 on Nov. 3, 2023. The helicopter was being repositioned to the spot where it will spend several weeks during Mars solar conjunction.

ISS031-E-148455 (21 June 2012) --- Toshka Lakes in southern Egypt are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 31 crew member on the International Space Station. The Toshka Lakes (center) were formed in the Sahara Desert of Egypt by water from the River Nile conveyed from Lake Nasser by a canal to the Toshka Depression. Flooding of the Toshka Depression had created the four main lakes with a maximum surface area in 2002 of approximately 1,450 square kilometers around 25.26 billion cubic meters of water. By 2006 the stored water was reduced by 50 per cent and by 2012 shows open water only in the lowest parts of the main western and eastern basinsrepresenting a reduction in surface area to 307 square kilometersnearly 80 per cent smaller than the 2002 surface area. Standing water is almost completely absent from the central basin. From space, astronauts documented the first lakethe easternmost onein 1998. The lakes progressively grew in depressions to the west, the west

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 38 crewmember. Image was released by astronaut on Twitter.

Earth observation taken during a day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message Aydar Lake, Uzbekistan.

ISS042E080610 (12/29/2014) --- One of the 7 wonders of the Earth, the Grand Canyon in the US West as viewed from the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Terry Virts tweeted this revealing image that was taken on Dec. 29, 2014.

Seasonal flows on warm Martian slopes may be caused by the flow of salty water on Mars, active today when the surface is warm (above the freezing point of the solution). This observation is from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

STS068-214-035 (30 September 1994) --- One of the first photos taken by the crewmembers on launch day of the Space Shuttle Endeavour was this 70mm frame of the Kliuchevskoi volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The volcano was near its peak at this time. The large, black eruption plume billows from the summit, as ash is being deposited on the snow-covered region to the east and southeast (north is to upper left). A small steam plume rises from the peak of Bezymianny just south of Kliuchevskoi (or just right of center). As various members of the six-person crew were using handheld cameras to record the eruption, hardware in Endeavour's cargo bay was taking radar data of the event in support of the Space Radar Laboratory (SRL-2) project.

iss056e097055 (July 15, 2018) --- The mountainous and glacial Torres del Paine National Park in the southern-most part of Chile is pictured as the International Space Station began a quick orbital pass over the South American nation from the Pacific Ocean back out over the Atlantic Ocean.

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 39 crew aboard the ISS. Image was released by astronaut on Twitter and downlinked in folder Japan.

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as Cloud shadows over Indonesia.

Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists items in this group as Chile Atacama Bolivia Andes and active volcano.

This image from NASA's Terra spacecraft shows the Wallow and Horseshoe 2 Fires burning in Arizona. The data were acquired mid-morning on June 7, 2011. Nearly 10 distinct bluish-colored smoke plumes can be seen blowing toward the upper right (northeast).

Earth Observations taken by Expeditiion 38 crewmember. Image was released by astronaut on Twitter.

Aerial view of Nevada Test Site and normal fault-bounded ridges. Note cinder cones in foreground.

Color satellite image of Kuwait, with mask.

S66-45763 (18-21 July 1966) --- Don Martin Reservoir and Sabinas River Valley area of the States of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, Mexico, as seen from the Gemini-10 spacecraft. Taken with a J. A. Maurer 70mm camera, using Eastman Kodak, Ektachrome, MS (S.O. 217) color film.

These gorgeous dunes are likely active, with ripples on their upwind slopes and dark streaks on their downwind slopes forming and changing due to wind-driven sand motion. Color has been enhanced to highlight the dunes. This motion will also keep the dune brink (the edge between the two slopes) and bottom edges sharply defined. The dark lines and squiggles on the dune slope are formed by passing dust devils.

Turkmenistan, Asia, True Colour Satellite Image With Mask. Satellite view of Turkmenistan (with mask). This image was compiled from data acquired by LANDSAT 5 & 7 satellites.

ISS009-E-21203 (2 September 2004) --- From 230 miles above, this is a view into the eye of Hurricane Frances as it churned in the Atlantic Ocean almost 500 miles east-southeast of West Palm Beach, Fla., at about 8 a.m EDT Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004. At the time, Frances was a category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 mph. Astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke took this photo through the window of the International Space Station. Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka and Fincke, the NASA ISS Science Officer and Flight Engineer, are in the fifth month of a six-month stay on the orbiting research platform.

This observation from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a set of landforms that appears to form a nested 'chevron' pattern on a slope in Coloe Fossae. Interestingly, nearby surfaces on the same slope are all parallel.

Soaring high above Valles Marineris, the 'Grand Canyon of Mars,' viewers look down and catch a sight resembling parts of the desert West of the United States, but on a vastly greater scale. Here the canyon averagesover a hundred miles wide.

. iss068e017658 (Oct. 20, 2022) --- Lake Nasser, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, is pictured in southern Egypt from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above.

ISS038e014408 (10 Dec. 2013) --- What at first glance might appear to be a piece of modern art is actually a nadir perspective of part of the Amazon River system in South America, as photographed by one of the Expedition 38 crew members aboard the International Space Station. The astronaut used an 800mm lens to record the image on Dec. 10, 2013.

Some regions of Mars are not very colorful, but we can be surprised by local features. This image of an impact crater in the south Syrtis Major region was acquired as a ride-along with a CRISM observation, which targeted this location because that instrument's team expected a distinct composition. Our enhanced image reveals colors ranging from red to green to blue. These are infra-red shifted colors (infrared-red-blue) so it's different than what we would see with our eyes.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 35 crew aboard the ISS.

This image from NASA's Terra spacecraft shows the Orapa diamond mine, the world's largest diamond mine by area. The mine is located in Botswana.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

This part of Melas Chasma has been the target for many previous HiRISE images due to its diversity of terrains and materials. This observation covers an area not previously imaged, revealing a chaotic jumble of bright layered sediments, perhaps resulting from large landslides. In a closeup with enhanced colors, we can see an assortment of materials. Dark sand covers the low areas of the scene.

. iss069e020294 (June 12, 2023) - Moab, Utah, near the scenic Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above.

ISS040-E-027042 (30 June 2014) --- Kulunda Steppe, Siberia in central Russia is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 40 crew member on the International Space Station. The crew on the station called down to Houston to ask for an explanation of this strange pattern of spikes crossing the Kulunda Steppe in central Russia. The spikes are a prominent visual feature (center) visible from the top of the ISS orbit (approximately 52 degrees north), the highest latitude flown over by the spacecraft. In fact these linear zones are gentle folds in the surface rocks of the area, lying slightly lower than the surrounding lighter-toned agricultural lands. The dark zones are forested with pines and dotted with salt-rich lakes. The image width (left to right edge) represents more than 300 kilometers ground distance, and the forested spikes are nearly that length. The green floodplain of the famous Ob River (right) is the westernmost of Siberias three great rivers (the others being t

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 35 crew aboard the ISS.

Earth observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 37 crew. Possibly identified as Dzungarian Gate, mountain pass between China and Kazakhstan.

Ram Desert, Transjordanian Plateau, Jordan, True Colour Satellite Image. True colour satellite image of the the Ram desert (Wadi Ram), an arid desert plateau in Jordan. The grey valley on the left is the shore of the Red sea. Image taken on 1 October 1987 using LANDSAT data.

Scientist hypothesize that a lake of liquid water once filled Gale crater, and the layers in the mound formed as sediment settled down through the water to the bottom of the lake in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 38 crewmember. Image was released by astronaut on Twitter.

Satellite view of Libya and Egypt (with country boundaries). This image was compiled from data acquired in 2014 by Landsat 8 satellite.

GMT327_19_35_Barry Wilmore_Tenoumer Impact Crater - Huge Icebergs_131 (Image was released by astronaut on Instagram.)

Earth observation taken during a day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS).

Taizhuo, China, and its surrounding suburbs on the East China Sea are pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above the east coast of the Asian nation.

iss062e103145 (March 20, 2020) --- The Orange River in South Africa is pictured as the International Space Station orbited 264 miles above the African continent.

ISS026-E-033648 (13 March 2011) --- From 220 miles above Japan, an Expedition 26 crew member onboard the International Space Station took this 800mm view of Sendai, and the coast mostly north on March 13. Sunglint helps to highlight the flood waters over the land, flowing out the rivers, plus the heavy oils swirling on the surface with the currents. An earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on March 11.

View from the top of the earth’s surface. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as Baja, California.

ISS034-E-009924 (21 Dec. 2012) --- As the International Space Station and SoyuzTMA-07M spacecraft were making their relative approaches on Dec. 21, one of the Expedition 34 crew members on the orbital outpost captured this photo of the Soyuz backdropped by the Sahara Desert. Inside the arriving spacecraft were astronaut Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency, cosmonaut Roman Romanenko of Russia's Federal Space Agency and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn. The image center is at 31.7 degrees north latitude and 2.0 degrees east longitude, on the south side of the Atlas Mountains and on the northern margin of a huge dune field known as Grand Erg Occidental, located in north central Algeria.

Earth observation taken during a day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message The Bighorn River of Wyoming & Montana, United States.

ISS010-E-22438 (2 February 2005) --- The Egyptian Desert is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 10 crewmember on the International Space Station.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

Earth observation. iss068e026829 (Dec. 4, 2022) - The Garabogazköl Basin, in Turkmenistan on the eastern coast of a cloud-covered Caspian Sea, is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above.

This image comes from observations of Newton crater by the HiRISE camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter where features appear and incrementally grow during warm seasons and fade in cold seasons.

The remote region of Central West Queensland in Australia is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above. Notable geographical features pictured include the Diamantina River, flowing from upper left to lower right, and Lake Machattie at lower center left.

ISS036-E-015335 (4 July 2013) --- A number of Quebec, Canada wildfires southeast of James Bay were recorded as part of a series of photographs taken and downlinked to Earth on July 4 by the Expedition 36 crew members aboard the International Space Station.

This image from NASA's Terra satellite taken on Sept. 22, 2016, shows a deadly avalanche tumbling down a Tibetan mountain.

Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as Sahara.

. iss069e000237 (April 1, 2023) - The Faiyum Oasis in Egypt extends to the immediate west of the Nile river which leads to the Mediterranean Sea in this photograph from an external high definition camera on the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above.

Earth observation taken during a day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS).

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

iss056e084569 (July 7, 2018) --- The Tocantins River and its tributaries are pictured in the northern portion of Brazil as the International Space Station orbited about 252 miles above the South American country.

Fossil coal Seed fern (Linopteris sub-Brongniarti). Plant fossil of the North Mining Basin, Pas-de-Calais. Wesptphalien. Museum of Natural History and Geology of Lille, Nord, France

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

SL4-138-3820 (31 Dec. 1973) --- An north-looking oblique view of chains of star sand dunes in eastern Algeria as seen from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit. This picture was taken by one of the Skylab 4 crewmen with a hand-held 70mm Hasselblad camera. The low sun angle of about 25 degrees above horizontal enhances the detail in this picture. The coordinates of the center of the photograph are approximately 29.5 degrees north latitude and 5.0 degrees east longitude in the Grand Erg Oriental. The field of view at the base of the photograph is approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles). The individual dunes are roughly star-shaped rather than simple crescents which are common in dune fields. In this region the stars are aligned along ridges. The causes of these and a wide variety of other dune forms are little understood. Descriptions and photographs from Skylab 4 will be used by the U.S. Geological Survey in their world-wide study of dunes.

Earth observation taken during a day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS).

Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as Sahara.

The United Arab Emirates city of Dubai, pictured from the International Space Station at an altitude of 258 miles, boasts the man-made islands of Palm Jebel Ali, Palm Jumeirah, and the World Islands.

iss056e098062 (July 22, 2018) --- Mount Kilimanjaro is pictured in the northeastern region of Tanzania near the border of Kenya as the International Space Station orbited nearly 251 miles above the African continent.

Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as Sahara.

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 35 crew aboard the ISS.

Wind-blown deposits known as transverse aeolian ridges (TARs) are frequently visible in images of the Martian tropics. They are bright ripples with heights of 2.6 meters and spacing that averages 47 meters. The TARs generally appear inactive and eroded, sometimes cratered or littered with boulders from nearby impacts and avalanches. In Syria Planum, unusual bright deposits might be accumulations of dust blown from higher to lower elevations by nighttime slope winds, reaching speeds of up to 50 meters per second. These dust deposits resemble TARs in height and spacing but with a distinct shape from other TARs. A close up view shows that the deposits form pyramidal features with steep faces on the upwind sides (wind is blowing from the top of the picture) and tapered slopes in the downwind direction. Ridges form where the pyramids line up together, and the spacing of the ridges appears to be controlled by the length of the pyramids. These observations suggest that TARs elsewhere on M

Satellite view of Uzbekistan (with border and mask). This image was compiled from data acquired by LANDSAT 5 & 7 satellites.

NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Silver Fire in New Mexico June 12, 2013. By combining information from different MISR cameras, scientists have produced a 3D image of the smoke plume associated with the Silver Fire.

SL2-04-288 (22 June 1973) --- A truly remarkable view of White Sands and the nearby Carrizozo Lava Beds in southeast New Mexico (33.5N, 106.5W). White Sands, site of the WW II atomic bomb development and testing facility and later post war nuclear weapons testing that can still be seen in the cleared circular patterns on the ground.

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