The SRTM's sophisticated radar collected surface imaging data at a rate of 40,000 square miles a minute. Earth Science - Earth Science includes the study of atmospheric quality, weather, climate change, vegetation and land use, mineral and food resources and the health of fresh water and oceans. Students are responsible for planning the photo requests, which involves calculating the longitude and latitude of a region, as well as the exact time the Shuttle flies over it. Visit the website's datasystem area for a collection of Earth images taken from space. Images include volcanoes, fires, plankton, and hurricanes.
Clouds often hide large areas of the Earth's surface.
But, we can use radar to make detailed maps of Earth right through clouds or darkness. The Space Place website explains that as the Space Shuttle orbits around Earth, radar instruments inside and outside the Shuttle made the most detailed and accurate topographic map ever of almost the whole world during the STS-99 Space Shuttle mission. Space Team Online - Meet the men and women who make the space shuttle fly and the International Space Station a reality. This tracking system uses a Java applet to calculate and display spacecrafts and satellites against a world map. The Women of NASA resource was developed to encourage more young women to pursue careers in math, science, and technology.