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Earth Resources Project
Ames Earth Resources project …
3/23/09
Description Ames Earth Resources project U-2 aircraft shot this oblique image off the coast of California, USA in 1972. The Golden Gate is in the foreground. As the image looks out across California the blue spot at the top enter is Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada. Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center
Date 3/23/09
The Original Seven
In this 1960 photograph, the …
11/27/07
Description In this 1960 photograph, the seven original Mercury astronauts participate in U.S. Air Force survival training exercises at Stead Air Force Base in Nevada. Pictured from left to right are: L. Gordon Cooper, M. Scott Carpenter, John Glenn, Alan Shepard, Virgil I. Grissom, Walter Schirra and Donald K. Slayton. Portions of their clothing have been fashioned from parachute material, and all have grown beards from their time in the wilderness. The purpose of this training was to prepare astronauts in the event of an emergency or faulty landing in a remote area. Forty-five years ago today on May 24, 1962, Scott Carpenter went on to fly the second American manned orbital flight. He piloted his Aurora 7 spacecraft through three revolutions of the Earth, reaching a maximum altitude of 164 miles. The spacecraft landed in the Atlantic Ocean about 1,000 miles, about 1,609 kilometers, southeast of Cape Canaveral after the 4 hour, 54 minute flight. Image credit: NASA
Date 11/27/07
ER-2
One of NASA's ER-2 high-alti …
2/19/09
Description One of NASA's ER-2 high-altitude Earth science aircraft banks away from the photo chase plane during a flight over a southern Sierra Nevada snowscape. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center operates two of the Lockheed-built aircraft on a wide variety of environmental science, atmospheric sampling and satellite data verification missions. February 26, 2008 NASA Photo / Carla Thomas ED08-0053-07
Date 2/19/09
Mammoth/C-band multipol
This image is a false-color …
4/13/94
Date 4/13/94
Description This image is a false-color composite of the Mammoth Mountain area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California. The image is centered at 37.6 degrees north latitude and 119.0 degrees west longitude. The area is approximately 11.5 kilometers by 78.3 kilometers (7.2 by 48.7 miles) in size. The image was acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) aboard space shuttle Endeavour on its 40th orbit, April 11, 1994. The city of Mammoth Lakes is visible in the bottom right portion of the scene. In this color representation, red is C-band HV-polarization, green is C-band VV-polarization and blue is the ratio of C-band VV to C-band HV. Blue areas are lakes or slopes facing away from the radar illumination. Yellow represents areas of dry, old snow as well as slopes facing directly the radar illumination. At the time of the SIR-C overflight, the sky conditions were partially cloudy, with low and cold air temperatures. Total snow depth is about 1 to 1.5 meters (3 to 5 feet). The current snow accumulation is only about 40 percent of the average for the season. The most recent snowfall in the area covered the entire area with about 30 centimeters (14 inches) of fresh dry snow. Above 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) elevation the snowpack is dry. Below that elevation, the snowpack has a layered structure. Snow hydrologists are using SIR-C/X-SAR data to determine both the quantity of water held by seasonal snowpack and the amount of snow melting. ----- SIR-C/X-SAR radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, in conjunction with aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fur Luft und Raumfahrt e.v. (DLR), the major partner in science, operation and data processing of X-SAR. #####
Mammoth land cover map
These two images were create …
4/16/94
Date 4/16/94
Description These two images were created using data from the Spaceborne Imaging Radar C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR). The image on the left is a false-color composite of the Mammoth Mountain area in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains centered at 37.6 degrees north, 119.0 degrees west. It was acquired onboard space shuttle Endeavour on its 67th orbit on April 13, 1994. In the image on the left, red is C-band HV-polarization, green is C- band HH-polarization and blue is the ratio of C-band VV- polarization to C-band HV-polarization. On the right is a classification map of the surface features which was developed by SIR-C/X-SAR science team members at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The area is about 23 by 46 kilometers (14 by 29 miles). In the classification image, the colors represent the following surfaces: White snow Red frozen lake, covered by snow Brown bare ground Blue lake (open water) Yellow short vegetation (mainly brush) Green sparse forest Dark green dense forest Maps like this one are helpful to scientists studying snow wettness and snow water equivelent in the snow pack. Across the globe, over major portions of the middle and high latitudes, and at high elevations in the tropical latitudes, snow and alpine glaciers are the largest contributors to run-off in rivers and to ground-water recharge. Snow hydrologists are using radar in an attempt to estimate both the quantity of water held by seasonal snow packs and the timing of snow melt. Snow and ice also play important roles in regional climates, understanding the processes in seasonal snow cover is also important for studies of the chemical balance of alpine drainage basins. SIR-C/X-SAR is a powerful tool because it is sensitive to most snow pack conditions and is less influenced by weather conditions than other remote sensing instruments, such as the Landsat satellite. ----- Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt e.v. (DLR), the major partner in science, operations and data processing of X-SAR. #####
Mammoth Mountain, Calif. L, …
This false-color composite r …
10/10/94
Date 10/10/94
Description This false-color composite radar image of the Mammoth Mountain area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, was acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on its 67th orbit on October 3, 1994. The image is centered at 37.6 degrees north latitude and 119.0 degrees west longitude. The area is about 39 kilometers by 51 kilometers (24 miles by 31 miles). North is toward the bottom, about 45 degrees to the right. In this image, red was created using L-band (horizontally transmitted/ vertically received) polarization data, green was created using C-band (horizontally transmitted/vertically received) polarization data, and blue was created using C-band (horizontally transmitted and received) polarization data. Crawley Lake appears dark at the center left of the image, just above or south of Long Valley. The Mammoth Mountain ski area is visible at the top right of the scene. The red areas correspond to forests, the dark blue areas are bare surfaces and the green areas are short vegetation, mainly brush. The purple areas at the higher elevations in the upper part of the scene are discontinuous patches of snow cover from a September 28 storm. New, very thin snow was falling before and during the second space shuttle pass. In parallel with the operational SIR-C data processing, an experimental effort is being conducted to test SAR data processing using the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's massively parallel supercomputing facility, centered around the Cray Research T3D . These experiments will assess the abilities of large supercomputers to produce high throughput Synthetic Aperture Radar processing in preparation for upcoming data- intensive SAR missions. The image released here was produced as part of this experimental effort. ----- Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR- C/X-SAR) are part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves, allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR- C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm), and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes that are caused by nature and those changes that are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt e.V.(DLR), the major partner in science operations and data processing of X-SAR. #####
Mammoth Mountain, Calif. Sea …
These two false-color compos …
10/10/94
Date 10/10/94
Description These two false-color composite imges of the Mammoth Mountain area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Calif., show significant seasonal changes in snow cover. The image at left was acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on its 67th orbit on April 13, 1994. The image is centered at 37.6 degrees north latitude and 119 degrees west longitude. The area is about 36 kilometers by 48 kilometers (22 miles by 29 miles). In this image, red is L-band (horizontally transmitted and vertically received) polarization data, green is C-band (horizontally transmitted and vertically received) polarization data, and blue is C-band (horizontally transmitted and received) polarization data. The image at right was acquired on October 3, 1994, on the space shuttle Endeavour's 67th orbit of the second radar mission. Crowley Lake appears dark at the center left of the image, just above or south of Long Valley. The Mammoth Mountain ski area is visible at the top right of the scene. The red areas correspond to forests, the dark blue areas are bare surfaces and the green areas are short vegetation, mainly brush. The changes in color tone at the higher elevations (e.g. the Mammoth Mountain ski area) from green-blue in April to purple in September reflect changes in snow cover between the two missions. The April mission occurred immediately following a moderate snow storm. During the mission the snow evolved from a dry, fine-grained snowpack with few distinct layers to a wet, coarse-grained pack with multiple ice inclusions. Since that mission, all snow in the area has melted except for small glaciers and permanent snowfields on the Silver Divide and near the headwaters of Rock Creek. On October 3, 1994, only discontinuous patches of snow cover were present at very high elevations following the first snow storm of the season on September 28, 1994. For investigations in hydrology and land- surface climatology, seasonal snow cover and alpine glaciers are critical to the radiation and water balances. SIR-C/X-SAR is a powerful tool because it is sensitive to most snowpack conditions and is less influenced by weather conditions than other remote sensing instruments, such as Landsat. In parallel with the operational SIR-C data processing, an experimental effort is being conducted to test SAR data processing using the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's massively parallel supercomputing facility, centered around the Cray Research T3D. These experiments will assess the abilities of large supercomputers to produce high throughput SAR processing in preparation for upcoming data-intensive SAR missions. The images released here were produced as part of this experimental effort. ----- Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves, allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L- band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi- frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt e.V.(DLR), the major partner in science, operations and data processing of X-SAR.
Perspective View, Garlock Fa …
California's Garlock Fault, …
Description California's Garlock Fault, marking the northwestern boundary of the Mojave Desert, lies at the foot of the mountains, running from the lower right to the top center of this image, which was created with data from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), flown in February 2000. The data will be used by geologists studying fault dynamics and landforms resulting from active tectonics. These mountains are the southern end of the Sierra Nevada and the prominent canyon emerging at the lower right is Lone Tree Canyon. In the distance, the San Gabriel Mountains cut across from the left side of the image. At their base lies the San Andreas Fault which meets the Garlock Fault near the left edge at Tejon Pass. The dark linear feature running from lower right to upper left is State Highway 14 leading from the town of Mojave in the distance to Inyokern and the Owens Valley in the north. The lighter parallel lines are dirt roads related to power lines and the Los Angeles Aqueduct which run along the base of the mountains. This type of display adds the important dimension of elevation to the study of land use and environmental processes as observed in satellite images. The perspective view was created by draping a Landsat satellite image over an SRTM elevation model. Topography is exaggerated 1.5 times vertically. The Landsat image was provided by the United States Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observations Systems (EROS) Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This image was acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60- meter-long (200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, D.C. Size: Varies in a perspective view Location: 35.25 deg. North lat., 118.05 deg. West lon. Orientation: Looking southwest Original Data Resolution: SRTM and Landsat: 30 meters (99 feet) Date Acquired: February 16, 2000 Image: NASA/JPL/NIMA #####
Farallon Plate Remnants
Title Farallon Plate Remnants
Abstract The Rockies are fifteen hundred kilometers, or one thousand miles, to the east. The cause must be the tectonic plate that built these mountains. Its name is Farallon. Farallon started off normally enough. It plunged beneath the North American Plate at a forty-five degree angle. This process sprouted volcanoes to form the Sierra Nevada in what is now California. Next, mantle motions pulled North America westward over Farallon, and the plate scraped along the bottom of the continent - for fifteen hundred kilometers. As North America continued its westward trek, Farallon settled to the bottom of the mantle.
Completed 2000-12-19
Farallon Plate Remnants
Title Farallon Plate Remnants
Abstract The Rockies are fifteen hundred kilometers, or one thousand miles, to the east. The cause must be the tectonic plate that built these mountains. Its name is Farallon. Farallon started off normally enough. It plunged beneath the North American Plate at a forty-five degree angle. This process sprouted volcanoes to form the Sierra Nevada in what is now California. Next, mantle motions pulled North America westward over Farallon, and the plate scraped along the bottom of the continent - for fifteen hundred kilometers. As North America continued its westward trek, Farallon settled to the bottom of the mantle.
Completed 2000-12-19
Farallon Plate Remnants
Title Farallon Plate Remnants
Abstract The Rockies are fifteen hundred kilometers, or one thousand miles, to the east. The cause must be the tectonic plate that built these mountains. Its name is Farallon. Farallon started off normally enough. It plunged beneath the North American Plate at a forty-five degree angle. This process sprouted volcanoes to form the Sierra Nevada in what is now California. Next, mantle motions pulled North America westward over Farallon, and the plate scraped along the bottom of the continent - for fifteen hundred kilometers. As North America continued its westward trek, Farallon settled to the bottom of the mantle.
Completed 2000-12-19
National Map Showing Habitat …
Title National Map Showing Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion
Abstract The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The system provides a framework for using USGS's early detection and monitoring protocols and predictive models to process MODIS, ETM+, ASTER and commercial remote sensing data, to create on-demand, regional-scale assessments of invasive species likely habitats. Recent work on the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) project has shown the importance of remotely-sensed time-series data in geostatistical models for mapping the distribution of Tamarisk and other invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the continental United States. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable and yellow indicates areas which are less suitable. Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada are the most highly suitable states. Utah and Arizona have the next greatest risk. California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Wyoming, and Florida also have a significant risk.
Completed 2005-10-18
National Map Showing Habitat …
Title National Map Showing Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion
Abstract The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The system provides a framework for using USGS's early detection and monitoring protocols and predictive models to process MODIS, ETM+, ASTER and commercial remote sensing data, to create on-demand, regional-scale assessments of invasive species likely habitats. Recent work on the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) project has shown the importance of remotely-sensed time-series data in geostatistical models for mapping the distribution of Tamarisk and other invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the continental United States. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable and yellow indicates areas which are less suitable. Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada are the most highly suitable states. Utah and Arizona have the next greatest risk. California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Wyoming, and Florida also have a significant risk.
Completed 2005-10-18
National Map Showing Habitat …
Title National Map Showing Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion
Abstract The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The system provides a framework for using USGS's early detection and monitoring protocols and predictive models to process MODIS, ETM+, ASTER and commercial remote sensing data, to create on-demand, regional-scale assessments of invasive species likely habitats. Recent work on the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) project has shown the importance of remotely-sensed time-series data in geostatistical models for mapping the distribution of Tamarisk and other invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the continental United States. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable and yellow indicates areas which are less suitable. Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada are the most highly suitable states. Utah and Arizona have the next greatest risk. California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Wyoming, and Florida also have a significant risk.
Completed 2005-10-18
National Map Showing Habitat …
Title National Map Showing Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion
Abstract The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The system provides a framework for using USGS's early detection and monitoring protocols and predictive models to process MODIS, ETM+, ASTER and commercial remote sensing data, to create on-demand, regional-scale assessments of invasive species likely habitats. Recent work on the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) project has shown the importance of remotely-sensed time-series data in geostatistical models for mapping the distribution of Tamarisk and other invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the continental United States. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable and yellow indicates areas which are less suitable. Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada are the most highly suitable states. Utah and Arizona have the next greatest risk. California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Wyoming, and Florida also have a significant risk.
Completed 2005-10-18
National Map Showing Habitat …
Title National Map Showing Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion
Abstract The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. The system provides a framework for using USGS's early detection and monitoring protocols and predictive models to process MODIS, ETM+, ASTER and commercial remote sensing data, to create on-demand, regional-scale assessments of invasive species likely habitats. Recent work on the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) project has shown the importance of remotely-sensed time-series data in geostatistical models for mapping the distribution of Tamarisk and other invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the continental United States. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable and yellow indicates areas which are less suitable. Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada are the most highly suitable states. Utah and Arizona have the next greatest risk. California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Wyoming, and Florida also have a significant risk.
Completed 2005-10-18
Habitat Suitability for Tama …
Title Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion in the State of Nevada
Abstract The Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) is a partnership between NASA and The US Geological Survey (USGS). The ISFS combines NASA Earth observations and statistical models to enhance USGS capabilities to map, monitor and predict the spread of significant invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the state of Nevada. Tamarisk spreads quickly along riverbeds and when it's leaves shed they secrete salt on the soil, thereby hindering other plant growth. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable for Tamarisk. Yellow indicates areas which are less suitable, and grey are areas which are not suitable.
Completed 2005-10-18
Habitat Suitability for Tama …
Title Habitat Suitability for Tamarisk Invasion in the State of Nevada
Abstract The Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) is a partnership between NASA and The US Geological Survey (USGS). The ISFS combines NASA Earth observations and statistical models to enhance USGS capabilities to map, monitor and predict the spread of significant invasive plant species. This video shows the habitat suitability for a Tamarisk invasion in the state of Nevada. Tamarisk spreads quickly along riverbeds and when it's leaves shed they secrete salt on the soil, thereby hindering other plant growth. Red indicates areas that are highly suitable for Tamarisk. Yellow indicates areas which are less suitable, and grey are areas which are not suitable.
Completed 2005-10-18
ACC-00281-107
Ames Earth Resources project …
6/1/72
Description Ames Earth Resources project U-2 aircraft shot this oblique image off the coast of California, USA in 1972. The Golden Gate is in the foreground. As the image looks out across California the blue spot at the top enter is Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the California Nevada border.
Date 6/1/72
ACC-00281-107
Ames Earth Resources project …
6/1/72
Description Ames Earth Resources project U-2 aircraft shot this oblique image off the coast of California, USA in 1972. The Golden Gate is in the foreground. As the image looks out across California the blue spot at the top enter is Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the California Nevada border.
Date 6/1/72
ACC 00281-107
Ames Earth Resources project …
6/1/72
Description Ames Earth Resources project U-2 aircraft shot this oblique image off the coast of California, USA in 1972. The Golden Gate is in the foreground. As the image looks out across California the blue spot at the top enter is Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the California Nevada border.
Date 6/1/72
X-15 #3 in flight (USAF Phot …
Photo Date 1960s
X-15 #2 on lakebed after eng …
Photo Description On 9 November 1962, an engine failure forced Jack McKay, a NASA research pilot, to make an emergency landing at Mud Lake, Nevada, in the second X-15 (56-6671), its landing gear collapsed and the X-15 flipped over on its back. McKay was promptly rescued by an Air Force medical team standing by near the launch site, and eventually recovered to fly the X-15 again. But his injuries, more serious than at first thought, eventually forced his retirement from NASA. The aircraft was sent back to the manufacturer, where it underwent extensive repairs and modifications. It returned to Edwards in February 1964 as the X-15A-2, with a longer fuselage (52 ft 5 in) and external fuel tanks.
Project Description The basic X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 ft long with a wingspan of 22 ft. It was a missile-shaped vehicle with an unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby wings, and unique side fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage. The X-15 weighed about 14,000 lb empty and approximately 34,000 lb at launch. The XLR-99 rocket engine, manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Corp., was pilot controlled and was capable of developing 57,000 lb of thrust. North American Aviation built three X-15 aircraft for the program. The X-15 research aircraft was developed to provide in-flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, high-altitude flight. A follow-on program used the aircraft as a testbed to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth's atmosphere on a repeated basis. For flight in the dense air of the usable atmosphere, the X-15 used conventional aerodynamic controls such as rudder surfaces on the vertical stabilizers to control yaw and movable horizontal stabilizers to control pitch when moving in synchronization or roll when moved differentially. For flight in the thin air outside of the appreciable Earth's atmosphere, the X-15 used a reaction control system. Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and yaw control. Those on the wings provided roll control. Because of the large fuel consumption, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at 45,000 ft and a speed of about 500 mph. Depending on the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 sec of flight. The remainder of the normal 10 to 11 min. flight was powerless and ended with a 200-mph glide landing. Generally, one of two types of X-15 flight profiles was used, a high-altitude flight plan that called for the pilot to maintain a steep rate of climb, or a speed profile that called for the pilot to push over and maintain a level altitude. The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years--June 1959 to Oct. 1968--and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 ft in a program to investigate all aspects of manned hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, and also the Space Shuttle program. The X-15s made a total of 199 flights, and were manufactured by North American Aviation. X-15-1, serial number 56-6670, is now located at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC. North American X-15A-2, serial number 56-6671, is at the United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The X-15-3, serial number 56-6672, crashed on 15 November 1967, resulting in the death of Maj. Michael J. Adams.
Photo Date 1962
Angora Fire
Title Angora Fire
Description On the weekend of June 23, 2007, a wildfire broke out south of Lake Tahoe, which stretches across the California-Nevada border. By June 28, the Angora Fire [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14323 ] had burned more than 200 homes and forced some 2,000 residents to evacuate, according to The Seattle Times and the Central Valley Business Times. On June 27, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite captured this image of the burn scar left by the Angora fire. The burn scar is dark gray, or charcoal. Water bodies, including the southern tip of Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake, are pale silvery blue, the silver color a result of sunlight reflecting off the surface of the water. Vegetation ranges in color from dark to bright green. Streets are light gray, and the customary pattern of meandering residential streets and cul-de-sacs appears throughout the image, including the area that burned. The burn scar shows where the fire obliterated some of the residential areas just east of Fallen Leaf Lake. According to news reports, the U.S. Forest Service had expressed optimism about containing the fire within a week of the outbreak, but a few days after the fire started, it jumped a defense, forcing the evacuation of hundreds more residents. Strong winds that had been forecast for June 27, however, did not materialize, allowing firefighters to regain ground in controlling the blaze. On June 27, authorities hoped that the fire would be completely contained by July 3. According to estimates provided in the daily report from the National Interagency Fire Center, [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] the fire had burned 3,100 acres (about 12.5 square kilometers) and was about 55 percent contained as of June 28. Some mandatory evacuations remained in effect. You can download a 15-meter-resolution KMZ file of the Angora fire [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/tahoe_ast_2007178.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.
Cloudy winter in Mexico and …
Title Cloudy winter in Mexico and the Southern United States
Description February was a cloudy and, in some places, a rainy month for much of the southern United States and Mexico. Heavy rains flooded southern California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. This image hints at patterns of cloud cover during February. The image is a measurement of outgoing longwave radiation, the heat emitted by the Earth's surface. Clouds are cooler than land, so outgoing longwave radiation is less intense where there are clouds. The above image shows anomalies—where February 2005 differed from average values measured in February 1979-1995. Regions where there were more clouds than normal are blue, while areas with fewer clouds are red. The blue regions seen here confirm the days of rain that southern North America experienced in February. This image was derived from measurements made by the TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) onboard the NOAA-POES satellite series. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of Assaf Anyamba and NOAA National Center for Environmental Prediction.
Death Valley
Title Death Valley
Description Now the driest place in North America, Death Valley was once a verdant, water-filled haven. Between 128,000 and 186,000 years ago, ice covered the Sierra Nevada and rivers flowed into the long valley, feeding Lake Manly. At nearly 100 miles long and 600 feet deep, this massive lake filled Death Valley. To the west, on the other side of the Panamint Range (capped with snow in the top image), was the slightly smaller Panamint Lake. Though the lake and rivers dried as the ice retreated and the climate warmed, water has left its mark on the landscape. Evaporating water left a white salt pan in its place, so the beds of both lakes are clearly visible in these images, acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on March 10, 2005, (top) and March 11, 2004 (bottom). Driven by a mild El Niño, winter 2005 was wet. Southern California was inundated with heavy rain from December through late February. The effects on the landscape hearken back to an earlier age when water was more prevalent. On March 10, 2005, water had pooled in the former Lake Manly and, less noticeably, in Lake Panamint. To the northwest, Owens Valley?another remnant of the last ice age?is also filling with water. Aside from darkening the dry salt pans with water, the winter weather had another effect on the landscape. The mountains are darker and slightly greener with growing vegetation. On average, Death Valley receives less than two inches of rain per year. When the rain does fall, the desert springs to life, blossoming with flowers. This year, Death Valley National Park received over six inches of rain, and the result is a rainbow of wildflowers?one of the best blooms in modern history, the National Park Service reports. For daily wildflower updates, visit the Death Valley National Park [ http://www.nps.gov/deva/ ] home page. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team and the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC.
Death Valley
Title Death Valley
Description Now the driest place in North America, Death Valley was once a verdant, water-filled haven. Between 128,000 and 186,000 years ago, ice covered the Sierra Nevada and rivers flowed into the long valley, feeding Lake Manly. At nearly 100 miles long and 600 feet deep, this massive lake filled Death Valley. To the west, on the other side of the Panamint Range (capped with snow in the top image), was the slightly smaller Panamint Lake. Though the lake and rivers dried as the ice retreated and the climate warmed, water has left its mark on the landscape. Evaporating water left a white salt pan in its place, so the beds of both lakes are clearly visible in these images, acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on March 10, 2005, (top) and March 11, 2004 (bottom). Driven by a mild El Niño, winter 2005 was wet. Southern California was inundated with heavy rain from December through late February. The effects on the landscape hearken back to an earlier age when water was more prevalent. On March 10, 2005, water had pooled in the former Lake Manly and, less noticeably, in Lake Panamint. To the northwest, Owens Valley?another remnant of the last ice age?is also filling with water. Aside from darkening the dry salt pans with water, the winter weather had another effect on the landscape. The mountains are darker and slightly greener with growing vegetation. On average, Death Valley receives less than two inches of rain per year. When the rain does fall, the desert springs to life, blossoming with flowers. This year, Death Valley National Park received over six inches of rain, and the result is a rainbow of wildflowers?one of the best blooms in modern history, the National Park Service reports. For daily wildflower updates, visit the Death Valley National Park [ http://www.nps.gov/deva/ ] home page. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team and the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC.
Heatwave in the Western Unit …
Title Heatwave in the Western United States
Description The oppressive heat that crept over parts of the western United States during the first few days of July 2007 [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14380 ] took hold of the entire West during the week of July 4 through July 11. Deep red tones blanket every western state in this land surface temperature image, an indication that temperatures were warmer than in previous years. The image was made with data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite and shows temperatures recorded between July 4 and July 11, 2007, compared to the average of temperatures observed during the same period in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Areas that are warmer than during that three-year period are red, while cooler areas are blue. Triple-digit temperatures broke or matched records from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Great Falls, Montana, during this period. In this image, a cluster of red-black over eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and eastern Montana indicates that these regions experienced much warmer temperatures than in previous years. Western South Dakota (the Black Hills region) was also exceptionally warm. On the other end of the scale, Texas was much cooler than it had been in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Heavy rains pounded Texas on and off throughout this period, contributing to wide-spread flooding. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14363 ] You can download a global KMZ file of Land Surface Temperature anomaly [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/kansas_ast_2007187.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Land Processes [ http://modis-land.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team.
Drought in Southwestern Unit …
Title Drought in Southwestern United States
Description The southwestern United States pined for water in late March and early April 2007. This image is based on data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite from March 22 through April 6, 2007, and it shows the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI, for the period. In this NDVI color scale, green indicates areas of healthier-than-usual vegetation, and only small patches of green appear in this image, near the California-Nevada border and in Utah. Larger areas of below-normal vegetation are more common, especially throughout California. Pale yellow indicates areas with generally average vegetation. Gray areas appear where no data were available, likely due to persistent clouds or snow cover. According to the April 10, 2007, update from the U.S. Drought Monitor, [ http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ] most of the southwestern United Sates, including Utah, Nevada, California, and Arizona, experienced moderate to extreme drought. The hardest hit areas were southeastern California and southwestern Arizona. Writing for the Drought Monitor, David Miskus of the Joint Agricultural Weather Facility reported that March 2007 had been unusually dry for the southwestern United States. While California's and Utah's reservoir storage was only slightly below normal, reservoir storage was well below normal for New Mexico and Arizona. In early April, an international research team published an online paper in Science noting that droughts could become more common for the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, as these areas were already showing signs of drying. Relying on the same computer models used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in early 2007, the researchers who published in Science concluded that global warming could make droughts more common, not just in the American Southwest, but also in semiarid regions of southern Europe, Mediterranean northern Africa, and the Middle East. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Inbal Reshef, Global Agricultural Monitoring Project [ http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/glam.cfm ].
Record Snow in California
Title Record Snow in California
Description A powerful Alaskan storm swept over California during the final week of October, drenching the state with record rain and snow. The storm was the second large storm to move over California in as many weeks, and it left the Sierra Nevada Mountains coated in snow. In this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image, taken by NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on October 31, 2004, after the clouds cleared, snow highlights the peaks of the long mountain chain that forms California's eastern border with Nevada. According to the Associated Press, the central Sierra Nevada received as much as 48 inches (1.2 meters) of snow in October, allowing ski resorts to open earlier than normal. Ski resort owners are not the only people who are pleased with the snowfall?California relies heavily on melting snow for its water supply. Like much of the west, California has been in drought for the past six years, and while this snowfall alone is not enough to end the drought, it will help. At the end of October, many locations in California had set new records for monthly rain or snowfall totals. The snow extends all the way down the 400-mile length of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in this image. On October 30, MODIS captured an image [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12560 ] of snow even further south in the San Bernardino Mountains around Los Angeles. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Fires in Nevada and Idaho
Title Fires in Nevada and Idaho
Description In northern Nevada, two large fires were racing through sagebrush and grass on July 18, 2005, when this image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. Active fire locations that MODIS detected are marked in red. Both the Esmerelda and Wilson Complex Fires were damaging livestock forage areas, as well as native animal habitat. To the north, in Idaho, the Clover Fire was burning in a southeast direction, creating a dark brown burn scar that looks much like the lava rocks of the Craters of the Moon National Monument. As of July 19, 2005, the Clover Fire was estimated to have burned 183,000 acres, the Wilson Fire: 57,500 acres, and the Esmerelda Fire: 75,000 acres. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of Oregon State University?s MODIS Direct Broadcast data facility.
Sierra Nevada Range, Mokelum …
Title Sierra Nevada Range, Mokelumne Wilderness
Description South of Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, the boundaries of three national forests—Stanislaus, El Dorado, and Humboldt-Toiyabe—meet. At the intersection of these boundaries sits the Mokelumne Wilderness Area, [ http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus/visitor/mokelumne.shtml ] which straddles the crest of the Sierra Nevada. On June 29, 2007, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] flying on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image of the Mokelumne and surrounding forests. In this simulated true-color image, dark green indicates thick vegetation, pale green indicates sparse vegetation, dark blue indicates water, and beige and gray indicate bare ground. National Park boundaries appear in white. The terrain in the area is rugged, with steep mountain crags interspersed with occasional lakes with jagged contours. At high elevations, forests give way to alpine plants, and finally, to bare rock. A pale shoreline outlines Spicer Reservoir, near the bottom of the image, suggesting a dip in the lake's water level, consistent with warm, dry [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14393 ] conditions that predominated in the American West in the early summer of 2007. Not all national forests are wilderness area, many forests offer timber concessions. In Stanislaus National Forest, in the lower left corner of this image, tiny pale patches break the forest cover. In the high-resolution imagery, the precise geometric outlines of these patches are more obvious, such patterns are consistent with clear-cut logging. You can download a 15-meter-resolution KMZ file of the Mokelumne Wilderness [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/eldorado_ast_2007180.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.
Snow Across the Western Unit …
Title Snow Across the Western United States
Description The Sunday after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the busiest travel days of the year in the United States as people return home from the four-day weekend. Sunday, November 28, 2004, was no exception, but this year, Mother Nature snarled traffic across a large swath of the west with an intense snow storm. The storm dumped up to 24 inches (0.6 meters) of snow on the mountains of southern Utah, and blanketed the surrounding states. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image the following day, on November 29, after the clouds moved out. The storm's path is clearly visible in this image: a track of white extends from southeastern Oregon and the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California to Colorado and New Mexico in the east. The National Weather Service reports that the storm moved east across the Plains States of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and Iowa on November 29 and November 30. The snow highlights some interesting features of the Western United States that might not otherwise be obvious in satellite imagery. Sandwiched between the straight diagonal line of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the west (the straight edge of the snow) and the Rocky Mountains in Central Utah in the east is the Great Basin Desert. This high desert basin covers a heart-shaped region of southern Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and southern Idaho and is clearly outlined in snow. Hemmed between two large mountain ranges that trap moisture from the east and the west, it is the United States' largest desert. It receives on average 7-12 inches of precipitation every year. The water that does fall in the region drains to interior, closed basins instead of the ocean, giving the region its name. The Great Basin Desert is made up of a series of mostly north-south running mountain ranges and valleys that give the land a wrinkled, wash-board appearance, particularly in Nevada. The snow highlights elevation change elsewhere in the image. The imposing Rocky Mountains appear slightly darker than the valleys around them, and the peaks and high plateaus in the south are covered in snow while the pink desert lowlands remain bare. On the right edge of the image, the flat plains of eastern Wyoming and Colorado are an even, uninterrupted white. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Land Processes DAAC
Mountains of Titan
Title Mountains of Titan
Explanation Peering through [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2006-147 ] the thick, hazy atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, an infrared camera onboard the Cassini [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm ] spacecraft recorded this view of the tallest mountains ever seen on Titan [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060508.html ]. Captured during a flyby in late October, the high resolution, false-color mosaic [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09032 ] shows a mountain range about 150 kilometers long and about 1.5 kilometers high - likened to the Sierra Nevada [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_(US) ] mountain range of the western United States, planet Earth [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/ NewImages/images.php3?img_id=11270 ]. Along Titan's mountain ridges lie bright deposits, thought to be methane [ http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1886.html ] snow or other organic material. The icy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050610.html ] mountains of Titan were probably formed like Earth's mid-ocean ridges, from material welling up [ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/tectonics/ divergent.html ] to fill gaps created as surface tectonic plates [ http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/tectonics.html ] spread apart.
Leonids vs. The Moon
Title Leonids vs. The Moon
Explanation Beautiful and bright, the 2002 Leonid meteors battled against glaring moonlight [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010906.html ]. This winning example, from Tuesday morning skies above Laughlin, Nevada, USA, finds an undaunted Leonid streaking [ http://spaceweather.com/meteors/images/19nov02/ Whittaker1.jpg ] between the familiar constellation of Orion [ http://www.gb.nrao.edu/~rmaddale/Education/ OrionTourCenter/ ] (left) and an overexposed full Moon. As anticipated, the Leonid shower [ http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/why.html ] packed a double punch on November 19 with planet Earth plunging through two dense clouds [ http://www.arm.ac.uk/leonid/dust2002.html ] of meteroids, dusty debris left by the passage of comet Tempel-Tuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021116.html ]. Some European observers reported 10 or so meteors a minute during the first peak near 4:00 Universal Time while North American skygazers witnessed slightly lower rates near the second peak around 10:30 UT. Overall, observed rates were much lower than last year's Leonid meteor storm, but for many the sky was still filled [ http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/Klumpke.html ] with a rewarding spectacle [ http://spaceweather.com/meteors/ gallery_18nov02.html ] of bright meteors. And that performance may be a fond farewell for years to come. The annual Leonid [ http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/history.html ] meteor shower will not likely approach even these rates again until the end of this century.
Mars Rising Through Arch Roc …
Title Mars Rising Through Arch Rock
Explanation Mars is heading for its closest encounter [ http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_985_1.asp ] with Earth in over 50,000 years. Although Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ] and Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/earth.html ] continue in their normal orbits [ http://www.kidscosmos.org/kid-stuff/mars-oppositions.html ] around the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030707.html ], about every two years Earth and Mars are on the same part of their orbit as seen from the Sun. When this happens [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/18jun_approachingmars.htm ] again in late August, Mars will be almost as near to the Sun as it ever gets, while simultaneously Earth will be almost as far from the Sun as it ever gets. This means that now is a great time to launch your space probe [ http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/release/2003/2003-095.htm ] to Mars. Alternatively, these next few months are a great time to see a bright red Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030331.html ] from your backyard. Mars [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] is so close that global features should be visible even through a small telescope. Look for Mars [ http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance/article_110_1.asp ] to rise about 11 pm and to remain the brightest red object in the sky until sunrise. Mars will rise increasingly earlier until its closest approach in late August. Mars was captured above [ http://astropics.com/vfire/ntviews.htm ] rising through the Arch Rock in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA.
Mars Rising Behind Poodle Ro …
Title Mars Rising Behind Poodle Rock
Explanation Have you seen Mars lately? As Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010204.html ] and Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030728.html ] near their closest approach in nearly 60,000 years [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/spotlight/marsClose01.html ] on August 27, the red planet [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ] has begun to appear dramatically bright and show interesting details [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030724.html ] through telescopes and binoculars. Although not yet visible at sunset, Mars [ http://www.tnni.net/~dustymars/2003_MARS.htm ] can be seen rising [ http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance/article_110_1.asp ] increasingly earlier in the evening. Once above the horizon, Mars is easy to spot [ http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_985_1.asp ], as it sports a distinct orange-red hue and it is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/sun.html ], the nearby Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/moon.html ], and Venus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/venus.html ]. After Earth overtakes Mars [ http://www.earthsky.com/2003/es030728.html ] in their respective solar orbits, Mars will be visible [ http://www.space.com/spacewatch/mars_preview_021108.html ] right from sunset, although its historic brightness will then begin to fade [ http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~rhill/alpo/marstuff/ephems/ephem2003.html ]. Pictured above [ http://www.astropics.com/mars/index.htm ], Mars was captured rising in the south east next to Poodle Rock in Valley of Fire State Park [ http://parks.nv.gov/vf.htm ], Nevada [ http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html ], USA [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html ].
Mars Rising Behind Elephant …
Title Mars Rising Behind Elephant Rock
Explanation Yesterday, at about 10 am Universal Time [ http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/UniversalTime.html ], Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030826.html ] and Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000102.html ] passed closer than in nearly 60,000 years. Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ], noticeably red, remains the brightest object in the eastern sky [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/25aug_closeencounter.htm ] just after sunset. The best views [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030824.html ] of Mars, however, will continue to be from the robot spacecraft currently orbiting Mars: the Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/overvu/overview.html ] and the Mars Odyssey [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/mission/rightnow.html ]. The current pass sparked the launching [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030728.html ] of four [ http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=9 ] new [ http://www.isas.ac.jp/e/enterp/missions/nozomi/index.html ] spacecraft [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/ ] toward Mars, some of which will deploy landers early next year and likely return even more spectacular view [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020723.html ]s of our planetary neighbor. Pictured above [ http://www.astropics.com/vfire/2589.htm ], Mars was photographed rising in the southeast behind Elephant Rock in the Valley of Fire State Park [ http://parks.nv.gov/vf.htm ], Nevada [ http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html ], USA [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html ].
Mars to Appear Normal This A …
Title Mars to Appear Normal This August
Explanation Will Mars appear extremely close and bright later this month? No [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/07jul_marshoax.htm ]. Regardless of numerous urban legends [ http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp ] circulating, Mars will appear relatively normal in August. October is the best month to see Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030902.html ] this year. The red planet [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ] is now visible in the morning before sunrise. As Earth catches up to Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050401.html ] in their respective orbits around the Sun, Mars will keep rising earlier [ http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/yawn.html ] in the night. On 2005 October 30, Earth will have caught up to Mars [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/27may_approachingmars.htm ] and the planets will be the nearest to each other in their orbits -- this time around. On October 30, Mars will be nearly opposite [ http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/tsky.php?t=20050805 ] to the Sun, rise at sunset, set at sunrise, and appear highest and brightest around midnight. Also on October 30, Mars will appear brighter [ http://www.earthsky.com/skywatching/marsbrightest.php ] than it has in the past two years, although still over 10,000 times smaller and fainter than the full Moon. Earth will then pass Mars, and Mars will appear to fade. Pictured above [ http://astropics.com/vfire2/3323.htm ], Mars is shown as it appeared 2003 August 27, when it appeared slightly brighter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030828.html ] than it had in nearly 60,000 years. The foreground setting is in the Valley of Fire [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_Fire ] state park in Nevada [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada ], USA [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html ]. The ellipticity [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipticity ] of orbits primarily determines the closeness and brightness of Mars during opposition [ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/headline_universe/solar_system/stories_2003/mars_opposit_27aug2003.html ].
Icy Europa and similar scale …
Title Icy Europa and similar scales on Earth
Description This is the first in a series of products that compare images at increasing resolutions of various areas on Jupiter'sicy moon Europa [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00539 ](top frame) to the same location on Earth, the San Francisco Bay area of California (bottom frame). Both images show areas of roughly equal size, 252 by 393 kilometers (157 by 244 miles), and resolution, 630 meters (690 yards). This means that the smallest identifiable feature is less than a mile across (2 pixels wide). North is to the top of the picture. The sun illumination from the right in the Europa image reveals several ridges crossing the scene, plateaus commonly several miles (10 km) across, and patches of smooth, low-lying darker materials. No prominent impact craters are visible, indicating the surface in this location is not geologically ancient. Some ridges have gaps, and subtle textural differences in these areas indicate that missing ridge segments probably were swept away by volcanic flows. The flow deposits are probably composed mainly of water ice, the chief constituent of the surface of Europa. The Earth based image (lower frame) covers an area stretching from San Francisco Bay (top left) to the Nevada border (top right) and from Mono Lake in (top center) to the Mojave Desert (bottom right). Other predominant geographic features include the snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains and California's Great Central Valley (center frame). The Europa image was obtained from a range of 62089 kilometers (39028 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft on December 19th, 1996 (Universal Time). The San Francisco Bay area image, from the NOAA satellite's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument, has been reprocessed to roughly match Galileo's resolution so as to offer a sense of the size of the features visible on Europa's surface. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington D.C. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web Galileo mission home page at: http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov.
Date 05.19.1997
X-15 #2 on lakebed after eng …
Title X-15 #2 on lakebed after engine failure forced pilot Jack McKay to make an emergency landing at Mud
Description On 9 November 1962, an engine failure forced Jack McKay, a NASA research pilot, to make an emergency landing at Mud Lake, Nevada, in the second X-15 (56-6671), its landing gear collapsed and the X-15 flipped over on its back. McKay was promptly rescued by an Air Force medical team standing by near the launch site, and eventually recovered to fly the X-15 again. But his injuries, more serious than at first thought, eventually forced his retirement from NASA. The aircraft was sent back to the manufacturer, where it underwent extensive repairs and modifications. It returned to Edwards in February 1964 as the X-15A-2, with a longer fuselage (52 ft 5 in) and external fuel tanks. The basic X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 ft long with a wingspan of 22 ft. It was a missile-shaped vehicle with an unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby wings, and unique side fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage. The X-15 weighed about 14,000 lb empty and approximately 34,000 lb at launch. The XLR-99 rocket engine, manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Corp., was pilot controlled and was capable of developing 57,000 lb of thrust. North American Aviation built three X-15 aircraft for the program. The X-15 research aircraft was developed to provide in-flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, high-altitude flight. A follow-on program used the aircraft as a testbed to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth's atmosphere on a repeated basis. For flight in the dense air of the usable atmosphere, the X-15 used conventional aerodynamic controls such as rudder surfaces on the vertical stabilizers to control yaw and movable horizontal stabilizers to control pitch when moving in synchronization or roll when moved differentially. For flight in the thin air outside of the appreciable Earth's atmosphere, the X-15 used a reaction control system. Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and yaw control. Those on the wings provided roll control. Because of the large fuel consumption, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at 45,000 ft and a speed of about 500 mph. Depending on the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 sec of flight. The remainder of the normal 10 to 11 min. flight was powerless and ended with a 200-mph glide landing. Generally, one of two types of X-15 flight profiles was used, a high-altitude flight plan that called for the pilot to maintain a steep rate of climb, or a speed profile that called for the pilot to push over and maintain a level altitude. The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years--June 1959 to Oct. 1968--and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 ft in a program to investigate all aspects of manned hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development, of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, and also the Space Shuttle program. The X-15s made a total of 199 flights, and were manufactured by North American Aviation. X-15-1, serial number 56-6670, is now located at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC. North American X-15A-2, serial number 56-6671, is at the United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The X-15-3, serial number 56-6672, crashed on 15 November 1967, resulting in the death of Maj. Michael J. Adams.
Date 01.01.1962
X-15 #3 in flight (USAF Phot …
Title X-15 #3 in flight (USAF Photo)
Description This U.S. Air Force photo shows the X-15 ship #3 (56-6672) in flight over the desert in the 1960s. Ship #3 made 65 flights during the program, attaining a top speed of Mach 5.65 and a maximum altitude of 354,200 feet. Only 10 of the 12 X-15 pilots flew Ship #3, and only eight of them earned their astronaut wings during the program. Robert White, Joseph Walker, Robert Rushworth, John "Jack" McKay, Joseph Engle, William "Pete" Knight, William Dana, and Michael Adams all earned their astronaut wings in Ship #3. Neil Armstrong and Milton Thompson also flew Ship #3. In fact, Armstrong piloted Ship #3 on its first flight, on 20 December 1961. On 15 November 1967, Ship #3 was launched over Delamar Lake, Nevada with Maj. Michael J. Adams at the controls. The vehicle soon reached a speed of Mach 5.2, and a peak altitude of 266,000 feet. During the climb, an electrical disturbance degraded the aircraft's controllability. Ship #3 began a slow drift in heading, which soon became a spin. Adams radioed that the X-15 "seems squirrelly" and then said "I'm in a spin." Through some combination of pilot technique and basic aerodynamic stability, Adams recovered from the spin and entered an inverted Mach 4.7 dive. As the X-15 plummeted into the increasingly thicker atmosphere, the Honeywell adaptive flight control system caused the vehicle to begin oscillating. As the pitching motion increased, aerodynamic forces finally broke the aircraft into several major pieces. Adams was killed when the forward fuselage impacted the desert. This was the only fatal accident during the entire X-15 program. The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft 50 ft long with a wingspan of 22 ft. It was a missile-shaped vehicle with an unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby wings, and unique side fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage. The X-15 weighed about 14,000 lb empty and approximately 34,000 lb at launch. The XLR-99 rocket engine, manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Corp., was pilot controlled and was capable of developing 57,000 lb of thrust. North American Aviation built three X-15 aircraft for the program. The X-15 research aircraft was developed to provide in-flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, high-altitude flight. A follow-on program used the aircraft as a testbed to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth's atmosphere on a repeated basis. For flight in the dense air of the usable atmosphere, the X-15 used conventional aerodynamic controls such as rudder surfaces on the vertical stabilizers to control yaw and movable horizontal stabilizers to control pitch when moving in synchronization or roll when moved differentially. For flight in the thin air outside of the appreciable Earth's atmosphere, the X-15 used a reaction control system. Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and yaw control. Those on the wings provided roll, control. Because of the large fuel consumption, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at 45,000 ft and a speed of about 500 mph. Depending on the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 sec of flight. The remainder of the normal 10 to 11 min. flight was powerless and ended with a 200-mph glide landing. Generally, one of two types of X-15 flight profiles was used, a high-altitude flight plan that called for the pilot to maintain a steep rate of climb, or a speed profile that called for the pilot to push over and maintain a level altitude. The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years -- June 1959 to Oct. 1968 -- and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph or Mach 6.7 (set by Ship #2) and 354,200 ft (set by Ship #3) in a program to investigate all aspects of manned hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, and also the Space Shuttle program. The X-15s made a total of 199 flights, and were manufactured by North American Aviation. X-15-1, serial number 56-6670, is now located at the National Air and Space museum, Washington DC. North American X-15A-2, serial number 56-6671, is at the United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Parts of the crashed X-15-3, serial number 56-6672, recovered in 1992 by Peter Merlin and Tony Moore (The X-Hunters) are on display at the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum at Edwards. The canopy from Ship #3, recovered during the original search in 1967, is displayed at the San Diego Aerospace Museum, San Diego, California.
Date 01.01.1960
X-15 ship #3 on lakebed
Title X-15 ship #3 on lakebed
Description The X-15 ship #3 (56-6672) is seen here on the lakebed at the Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards, California. Ship #3 made 65 flights during the program, attaining a top speed of Mach 5.65 and a maximum altitude of 354,200 feet. Only 10 of the 12 X-15 pilots flew Ship #3, and only eight of them earned their astronaut wings during the program. Robert White, Joseph Walker, Robert Rushworth, John "Jack" McKay, Joseph Engle, William "Pete" Knight, William Dana, and Michael Adams all earned their astronaut wings in Ship #3. Neil Armstrong and Milton Thompson also flew Ship #3. In fact, Armstrong piloted Ship #3 on its first flight, on 20 December 1961. On 15 November 1967, Ship #3 was launched over Delamar Lake, Nevada with Maj. Michael J. Adams at the controls. The vehicle soon reached a speed of Mach 5.2, and a peak altitude of 266,000 feet. During the climb, an electrical disturbance degraded the aircraft's controllability. Ship #3 began a slow drift in heading, which soon became a spin. Adams radioed that the X-15 "seems squirrelly," and then said "I'm in a spin." Through some combination of pilot technique and basic aerodynamic stability, Adams recovered from the spin, and entered an inverted Mach 4.7 dive. As the X-15 plummeted into the increasingly thicker atmosphere, the Honeywell adaptive flight control system caused the vehicle to begin oscillating. As the pitching motion increased, aerodynamic forces finally broke the aircraft into several major pieces. Adams was killed when the forward fuselage impacted the desert. This was the only fatal accident during the entire X-15 program. The X-15 was a rocket powered aircraft 50 ft long with a wingspan of 22 ft. It was a missile-shaped vehicle with an unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby wings, and unique side fairings that extended along the side of the fuselage. The X-15 weighed about 14,000 lb empty and approximately 34,000 lb at launch. The XLR-99 rocket engine, manufactured by Thiokol Chemical Corp., was pilot controlled and was capable of developing 57,000 lb of thrust. North American Aviation built three X-15 aircraft for the program. The X-15 research aircraft was developed to provide in-flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, high-altitude flight. A follow-on program used the aircraft as a testbed to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth's atmosphere on a repeated basis. For flight in the dense air of the usable atmosphere, the X-15 used conventional aerodynamic controls such as rudder surfaces on the vertical stabilizers to control yaw and movable horizontal stabilizers to control pitch when moving in synchronization or roll when moved differentially. For flight in the thin air outside of the appreciable Earth's atmosphere, the X-15 used a reaction control system. Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and yaw control. Those on the wings, provided roll control. Because of the large fuel consumption, the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 aircraft at 45,000 ft and a speed of about 500 mph. Depending on the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 sec of flight. The remainder of the normal 10 to 11 min. flight was powerless and ended with a 200-mph glide landing. Generally, one of two types of X-15 flight profiles was used, a high-altitude flight plan that called for the pilot to maintain a steep rate of climb, or a speed profile that called for the pilot to push over and maintain a level altitude. The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years -- June 1959 to Oct. 1968 -- and set the world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph or Mach 6.7 (set by Ship #2) and 354,200 ft (set by Ship #3) in a program to investigate all aspects of manned hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini,and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, and also the Space Shuttle program. The X-15s made a total of 199 flights, and were manufactured by North American Aviation. X-15-1, serial number 56-6670, is now located at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC. North American X-15A-2, serial number 56-6671, is at the United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Parts of the crashed X-15-3, serial number 56-6672, recovered in 1992 by Peter Merlin and Tony Moore (The X-Hunters) are on display at the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum at Edwards. The canopy from Ship #3, recovered during the original search in 1967, is displayed at the San Diego Aerospace Museum, San Diego, California.
Date 01.01.1962
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identifier nevadafires_ast_2007203
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