Also, duplicate selections result in only one picture being taken, thus avoiding unnecessary redundancy. Each orbit takes only 90 minutes, and the shuttle is in daylight only 45 minutes per orbit. It's important that a picture be taken during this 45 minutes of daylight, since the camera operates only in the visible light bands. Pictures usually show up on the EarthKAM Web site within hours of being taken. Not only does EarthKAM give students a hands-on experience, it may also encourage them to study science when they might otherwise not have shown any interest.
Students use the images for classroom projects involving geography, mathematics and space science.
The program helps develop their investigative skills, as well as those of image analysis. A positive result of this is that the students also learn to use the Internet as a tool for learning. In fact, before the Internet, this EarthKAM experience would not have been feasible. During the first five missions, middle school students took almost 5,000 high-resolution images of Earth. As a result, we have the beginning of an historical record of the Earth that later generations can study to see what is happening to the planet over time.