Into Orbit!
In 1994 NASA flew two Space Shuttle missions, STS59 and STS68, both on Endeavour, and both carrying an imaging radar. The flights provided data from two seasons to explore how imaging radars can be used to study Earth. The Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-C) had flown twice before on STS-2 (SIR-A) and STS-41G (SIR-B), and would fly once more on STS-99 as the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM).
Radars image Earth using microwave wavelengths. They are sensitive to surface roughness and water content, and provide information about geology, ecosystems, hydrology and the ocean. More than 100 investigators were scattered around the world collecting data on the ground about their test sites during the missions. To augment these ground observations, the astronauts made visual observations and took photographs of the surface providing information about clouds, dust storms, snow cover, vegetation greenness, subtle geologic features, and ocean and ice conditions.
These photos not only assisted the SIR-C investigators, but are a unique unexplored data set.
About the Photos
Unique features of the photos
Slide show on the radar missions
STS-59 Crew post-flight briefing
STS-68 crew post flight briefing
Tom Jones' Report on STS068
Use of Crew Earth Observations on the Shuttle Imaging Radar Missions
Slide show on the radar missions
STS-59 Crew post-flight briefing
STS-68 crew post flight briefing
Tom Jones' Report on STS068
Use of Crew Earth Observations on the Shuttle Imaging Radar Missions
Finding and Accessing the Photos
Print more Photo Cue Cards (download before printing to get proper page formatting)
Download Google Earth map (May need to use Google Chrome!)
Researching the Photos
NASA's Earth Observatory website ( use "Search" to look for other NASA images of your region): http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov