"6_2_10.TXT" (8257 bytes) was created on 02-21-89 SPACE SHUTTLE EARTH OBSERVATIONS PHOTOGRAPHY BACKGROUND Astronauts have used hand-held cameras to photograph the Earth for nearly 25 years, beginning with the Mercury missions in the early 1960s. Since 1981, Space Shuttle astronauts have taken more than 37,000 photographs with the Hasselblad Model 500 EL/M and the Aero Linhof Technika 45 hand-held cameras. About 85 percent of these photographs are Earth-looking views. The rest show satellite deployments, extravehicular activities, and astronaut activities in the cabin. Astronauts are trained in scientific observation of geological, oceanographic, environmental and meteorological phenomena. They are also instructed in the use of photographic techniques and equipment. Training helps the astronauts make informed decisions on which areas and phenomena to photograph. Specific areas of scientific interest are selected before each flight by a group of scientists. The astronauts receive intensive training and in-flight aids to help them locate these sites. PHOTOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS Most of the photographs are in natural color, although a limited amount of black-and-white film has been used with polarizing filters. Beginning in 1963, a small about of color infrared film was tested on some missions. Three lenses (50 mm, 100 mm, and 250 mm) on the Hasselblad cameras and two lenses (90 mm and 250 mm) on the Aero Linhof camera offer a wide variety of both areal coverage and spatial resolution. The Shuttle flies at different altitudes; for example, on the first 24 missions, the altitude range was between 204 and 555 km (110 and 300 nautical miles), which adds to this variation. Table 1 offers a guideline to the areal coverage provided by the photographs. ====================================================================== TABLE 1 - APPROXIMATE DISTANCE ACROSS A VERTICAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN FROM AN ALTITUDE OF 296 KILOMETERS (160 NAUTICAL MILES) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Camera Lens Distance Kilometers Nautical Miles Hasselblad 50 mm 325 175 100 mm 165 90 250 mm 65 35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Aero Linhof 90 mm 310 x 395 170 x 215 250 mm 110 x 145 60 x 75 ====================================================================== A rule of thumb is that 100-mm lens offers spatial resolution similar to that of Landsat multispectral scanner (approximately 80 m) and the 25-mm lens has resolution similar to that of the Landsat thematic mapper (approximately 30 m). For most Shuttle missions, the orbital tracks cover the tropical and temperate regions of the Earth between 28 degrees N. and 28 degrees S. latitude. Nine Space Transportation System (STS) missions have flown at higher latitudes, with the orbits of STS Missions 9, 41-G, 51-B, and 61-A extending to 57 degrees N. and 57 degrees S. latitude. Repeat coverage of an area is obtained by acquiring photography on several missions and/or by taking photographs from different viewing angles during a single mission. As a result of the Earth's rotation and the Shuttle's orbit duration (approximately 90 minutes), an area may be photographed at different Sun angles during a single mission. Stereoscopic coverage is available for a number of areas. USES OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY The Shuttle hand-held photography fills a niche between the coverage provided by aerial photography and that of unmanned satellite scanners and complements these two familiar formats with additional information. The ability of the trained astronaut to rapidly identify and photograph important phenomena on the Earth makes the Shuttle photographs unique. Near-real-time information exchange with the crew facilitates the recording of current events of environmental, geological, oceanographic, and meteorological importance. Photographing at various Sun angles highlights different geologic features and takes advantage of sun glint to show intricate ocean structures and land/water interfaces. Critical environmental monitoring sites are photographed repeatedly over time; some have photographic records dating back to the Gemini and Skylab missions. Earth-limb pictures taken at sunrise and sunset document the changes in the Earth's atmospheric layering.Volcanic activity is monitored in cooperation with the Scientific Event Alert Network of the Smithsonian Institution. Meteorological phenomena are monitored and photographed during Space Shuttle missions. Documentation of hurricanes, thunderstorms, squall lines, island cloud wakes, and jet stream, complements meteorological satellite data by offering better resolution and stereoscopic coverage of such phenomena. The photographs can be used in geologic mapping and in updating existing maps. OBTAINING INFORMATION ON SPACE SHUTTLE HAND-HELD PHOTOGRAPHY Each frame of the hand-held Shuttle photography has a set of descriptors to help the user understand the photographic content. This information is available in a set of catalogs or through an automated data base search. o CATALOGS - Catalogs of the photography for each Space Shuttle mission can be obtained by contacting the Earth Resources Observations System (EROS) Data Center. o DATA BASE - A computerized data base containing more than 15 descriptors for each frame of the Shuttle Earth- looking photography has been compiled. A data base query can be made through the EROS Data Center o VIEWING CENTERS - The photographs can be viewed on microfilm at National Cartographic Information Centers: the Technology Application Center, University of New Mexico; the Lunar Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, and the Library of Congress, Washington DC. o VIDEO DISK - The Earth-viewing photography from the first 24 STS missions is available on a video disk through the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. ====================================================================== O R D E R I N G P H O T O G R A P H S Prints, slides, and transparencies of STS Earth-looking photography are distributed through three agencies. The primary source of the data is: EROS DATA CENTER User Services Section Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57198 Phone: (605) 594-6151 FTS: 784-7151 Other sources are: TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS CENTER University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131 Phone: (505) 277-3622 and MEDIA SERVICES BRANCH Still Photography Library NASA/Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center P.O. Box 58425, Mail Code AP3 Houston TX 77258-8425 Phone: (713) 483-4231 A user may contact these agencies for ordering assistance, price lists, and oder forms. To order a picture, submit the Shuttle mission number, the film roll number, and the frame number. If the interest lies in a specific area, a listing of available photographs can be obtained through the EROS Data Center. submit the geographic name (i.e. country, island chain, ocean, or sea) and the latitude and longitude coordinates for the area of interest. The Space Shuttle Earth Observation Project Office recommends that a user visit one of the viewing centers to select the photograph best satisfying his or her requirements before ordering a photograph. ====================================================================== NASA, SPACE SHUTTLE EARTH OBSERVATIONS PHOTOGRAPHY, JSC, Houston, TX, January 1987