Browse All : Images of Samoa and American Samoa

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Apollo 10 Helicopter Recover …
Title Apollo 10 Helicopter Recovery
Full Description A Navy helicopter arrivies to recover the Apollo 10 astronauts, seen entering a life raft, as the Command Module "Charlie Brown" floats in the South Pacific. U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmers assist in the recovery operations. Splashdown occurred at 11:53 a.m., May 26, 1969, about 400 miles east of American Samoa. Note that in this photo the divers have attached a flotation collar to the spacecraft.
Date 05/26/1969
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Apollo 17 Pacific Recovery A …
Title Apollo 17 Pacific Recovery Area
Full Description The Apollo 17 spacecraft, containing astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. Schmitt, glided to a safe splashdown at 2:25 pm EST on December 19, 1972, 648 kilometers (350 nautical miles) southeast of American Samoa. They were flown by recovery helicopter to the U.S.S. Ticonderoga slightly less than an hour after the completion of NASA's sixth and last manned lunar landing in the Apollo program.
Date 12/19/1972
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Cyclones in the Pacific
Title Cyclones in the Pacific
Description This colorful image superimposes measurements of wind direction on top of wind speed. NASA's microwave scatterometer, QuickSCAT, collected the image on February 15, 2005, over the South Pacific where two large cyclones are moving steadily closer to one another in a potentially dangerous dance. It is very unusual for cyclones to be so close together in the South Pacific, and it's hard to predict how the storms will interact. One possibility is that the weaker storm will be tugged off course by the large-scale atmospheric circulation of the other. Eventually the weaker storm will seem to "orbit" the stronger storm. The second possibility is that the outflow from one storm will impede the outflow from the other storm, weakening the second storm. Regardless of the interaction, the storms pose a potentially deadly threat to American Samoa and the Cook Islands, which are shown as small grey dots. At the time this image was acquired, Olaf was a strengthening Category 4 cyclone, with steady winds of 135 knots and gusts up to 165 knots. Nancy was beginning to weaken with winds of 85 knots and gusts of 115 knots. The strongest winds, shown in pink, circle the center of the storms. Even without any sort of interaction, the two large storms could pack a dangerous one-two punch to the island nations of the South Pacific. NASA image courtesy Timothy Liu, Wendy Tang, and Xiaosu Xie, of the QuikSCAT Science Team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Cyclones in the Pacific
Title Cyclones in the Pacific
Description The MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Tropical Cyclones Olaf and Nancy in the South Pacific Ocean on February 16 at 1:10 UTC. At the time this image was taken, both cyclones were packing winds of up to 250 kmh (155 mph) and were buffeting the outlying islands of Samoa, American Samoa and the Cook islands, but had so far caused little damage and no injuries. The centre of cyclone Olaf was about 150 kilometers (93 miles) northwest of Samoa's main island of Savai'i and was moving at 15 km an hour. The centre of cyclone Nancy, a category 3 storm, had already passed over the southern Cook Island atolls of Aitutaki and Mitiaro and was about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of the main island of Rarotonga. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions and formats. NASA image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Cyclones in the Pacific
Title Cyclones in the Pacific
Description This image of the South Pacific on February 16, 2005, shows Cyclone Olaf and a weakening Cyclone Nancy one day before Olaf passed over the island of American Samoa as a Category 5 storm. Although the island received a direct hit, there were no reported causalities on land. However, some fishing vessels may have been lost. To the north of Olaf, a band of large thunderstorms stretches across the top of the scene. The line of storms is probably an outer spiral band of the cyclone, at the eastern end, the line of storms can be seen bending southward toward the core of the storm. The area of clear skies between the main part of the storm and the outer band of thunderstorms in the north is known as a "moat". A moat is zone of sinking air between bands of convection (rising air that fuels thunderstorms.) Image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidf,ire.ci.gsfc.nasa.gov ], NASA-GSFC
Tropical Cyclone Percy
Title Tropical Cyclone Percy
Description On February 27, 2005, Tropical Cyclone Percy continued to gather steam as it struck Swain?s Island, a tiny island in American Samoa. Tropical Cyclone Percy is the fourth large cyclone to sweep across the South Pacific in as many weeks, and at the time this image was taken at 10:05 a.m., local time, the storm was the equivalent of a Category 3 Hurricane with winds of 195 kilometers per hour (121 mph) and gusts to 240 kph (150 mph). By March 1, Percy would reach Category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, with winds of 213 kph (132 mph) and gusts to 260 kph (161 mph). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this true-color image of the storm on February 27. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard DAAC.
Tropical Cyclone Percy
Title Tropical Cyclone Percy
Description Percy, a powerful Category 4 cyclone, is the latest cyclone to threaten the South Pacific. In early February Cyclone Meena hit the Cook Islands, and in mid-February Cyclone Nancy also skirted the Cook Islands while Cyclone Olaf brushed the islands of Samoa and American Samoa. Percy started out as a tropical depression on February 24, 2005, near Tuvalu, just east of the international dateline. The system moved east-southeast staying north of Samoa and steadily increased in strength. It became a cyclone on February 25 and, two days later, grew into a powerful Category 4 cyclone with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Percy then slowed down, weakened slightly and battered the atolls of Nassau and Pukapuka in the northern Cook Islands before turning south on February 28. Percy regained Category 4 strength on March 1, and then further intensified into a powerful Category 5 storm on the 2nd with maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 knots (161 mph). In November of 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM satellite, was launched to measure rainfall over the global tropics. TRMM has also turned out to be an excellent observational platform for studying and monitoring tropical cyclones, as shown by this series of images of Cyclone Percy. The top left image, taken at 08:29 UTC on February 28, just as Percy was raking the Nassau and Pukapuka atolls, shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM shows an asymmetrical eye with intense rain (dark red area) in the northern part of the eyewall. This rain indicates where heat is being released into the storm. Known as "latent heat," it is the heat released when water vapor condenses into liquid cloud droplets. It is most effective in driving the cyclone's circulation when it is released near the center as is the case shown here by TRMM. The right image was taken at the same time by the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and shows a vertical cross section through the center of the storm looking east. The intense rain (darker red area) is associated with the tallest towers in the northern eyewall. The broad yellow area indicating moderate rain is associated with an outer rainband. At the time of these images, Percy was a Category 3 storm with sustained winds estimated at 105 knots (121 mph). The lower left image was taken at 08:18 UTC on March 2, 2005. At this time Percy was a strong Category 4 cyclone with maximum sustained winds estimated at 130 knots (150 mph). The center of the storm does not fall within the PR swath, which has a higher horizontal resolution than the TMI. However, the TMI is still able to show what appears to a double, eyewall. Mature, intense tropical cyclones undergo what it known as eyewall replacement cycles wherein an outer eyewall forms as a ring surrounding the inner eyewall. The outer eyewall eventually contracts and replaces the inner eyewall. The two eyewalls are evident as the two concentric rings of moderate rain intensity (green areas).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Percy
Title Tropical Cyclone Percy
Description Percy, a powerful Category 4 cyclone, is the latest cyclone to threaten the South Pacific. In early February Cyclone Meena hit the Cook Islands, and in mid-February Cyclone Nancy also skirted the Cook Islands while Cyclone Olaf brushed the islands of Samoa and American Samoa. Percy started out as a tropical depression on February 24, 2005, near Tuvalu, just east of the international dateline. The system moved east-southeast staying north of Samoa and steadily increased in strength. It became a cyclone on February 25 and, two days later, grew into a powerful Category 4 cyclone with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Percy then slowed down, weakened slightly and battered the atolls of Nassau and Pukapuka in the northern Cook Islands before turning south on February 28. Percy regained Category 4 strength on March 1, and then further intensified into a powerful Category 5 storm on the 2nd with maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 knots (161 mph). In November of 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM satellite, was launched to measure rainfall over the global tropics. TRMM has also turned out to be an excellent observational platform for studying and monitoring tropical cyclones, as shown by this series of images of Cyclone Percy. The top left image, taken at 08:29 UTC on February 28, just as Percy was raking the Nassau and Pukapuka atolls, shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM shows an asymmetrical eye with intense rain (dark red area) in the northern part of the eyewall. This rain indicates where heat is being released into the storm. Known as "latent heat," it is the heat released when water vapor condenses into liquid cloud droplets. It is most effective in driving the cyclone's circulation when it is released near the center as is the case shown here by TRMM. The right image was taken at the same time by the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and shows a vertical cross section through the center of the storm looking east. The intense rain (darker red area) is associated with the tallest towers in the northern eyewall. The broad yellow area indicating moderate rain is associated with an outer rainband. At the time of these images, Percy was a Category 3 storm with sustained winds estimated at 105 knots (121 mph). The lower left image was taken at 08:18 UTC on March 2, 2005. At this time Percy was a strong Category 4 cyclone with maximum sustained winds estimated at 130 knots (150 mph). The center of the storm does not fall within the PR swath, which has a higher horizontal resolution than the TMI. However, the TMI is still able to show what appears to a double, eyewall. Mature, intense tropical cyclones undergo what it known as eyewall replacement cycles wherein an outer eyewall forms as a ring surrounding the inner eyewall. The outer eyewall eventually contracts and replaces the inner eyewall. The two eyewalls are evident as the two concentric rings of moderate rain intensity (green areas).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Percy
Title Tropical Cyclone Percy
Description Percy, a powerful Category 4 cyclone, is the latest cyclone to threaten the South Pacific. In early February Cyclone Meena hit the Cook Islands, and in mid-February Cyclone Nancy also skirted the Cook Islands while Cyclone Olaf brushed the islands of Samoa and American Samoa. Percy started out as a tropical depression on February 24, 2005, near Tuvalu, just east of the international dateline. The system moved east-southeast staying north of Samoa and steadily increased in strength. It became a cyclone on February 25 and, two days later, grew into a powerful Category 4 cyclone with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Percy then slowed down, weakened slightly and battered the atolls of Nassau and Pukapuka in the northern Cook Islands before turning south on February 28. Percy regained Category 4 strength on March 1, and then further intensified into a powerful Category 5 storm on the 2nd with maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 knots (161 mph). In November of 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM satellite, was launched to measure rainfall over the global tropics. TRMM has also turned out to be an excellent observational platform for studying and monitoring tropical cyclones, as shown by this series of images of Cyclone Percy. The top left image, taken at 08:29 UTC on February 28, just as Percy was raking the Nassau and Pukapuka atolls, shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM shows an asymmetrical eye with intense rain (dark red area) in the northern part of the eyewall. This rain indicates where heat is being released into the storm. Known as "latent heat," it is the heat released when water vapor condenses into liquid cloud droplets. It is most effective in driving the cyclone's circulation when it is released near the center as is the case shown here by TRMM. The right image was taken at the same time by the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and shows a vertical cross section through the center of the storm looking east. The intense rain (darker red area) is associated with the tallest towers in the northern eyewall. The broad yellow area indicating moderate rain is associated with an outer rainband. At the time of these images, Percy was a Category 3 storm with sustained winds estimated at 105 knots (121 mph). The lower left image was taken at 08:18 UTC on March 2, 2005. At this time Percy was a strong Category 4 cyclone with maximum sustained winds estimated at 130 knots (150 mph). The center of the storm does not fall within the PR swath, which has a higher horizontal resolution than the TMI. However, the TMI is still able to show what appears to a double, eyewall. Mature, intense tropical cyclones undergo what it known as eyewall replacement cycles wherein an outer eyewall forms as a ring surrounding the inner eyewall. The outer eyewall eventually contracts and replaces the inner eyewall. The two eyewalls are evident as the two concentric rings of moderate rain intensity (green areas).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Percy: Natu …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
percy_TRM_2005061
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-03-02
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier percy_TRM_2005061
Tropical Cyclone Percy: Natu …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
On February 27, 2005, Tropic …
cookis_tmo_27feb05
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-02-27
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier cookis_tmo_27feb05
Tropical Cyclones Olaf and N …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
This colorful image superimp …
nancyolaf_QST_2005046
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-02-15
creator NASA -- NASA image courtesy Timothy Liu, Wendy Tang, and Xiaosu Xie, of the winds.jpl.nasa.gov/ QuikSCAT Science Team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
identifier nancyolaf_QST_2005046
Cyclones in the Pacific: Nat …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
The MODIS instrument onboard …
Olaf_Nancy_2005047
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-02-16
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Olaf_Nancy_2005047
Cyclones in the Pacific: Nat …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
This image of the South Paci …
Olaf.TMOA2005047
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-02-16
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Olaf.TMOA2005047
Apollo 10 crewmember is pick …
Title Apollo 10 crewmember is pickup by recovery helicopter
Description A member of the Apollo 10 crew is hoisted up to a helicopter from the prime recovery ship, U.S.S. Pinceton. Splashdown occurred at 11:53 a.m., May 26, 1969, about 400 miles east of American Samoa.
Date Taken 1969-05-26
Navy helicopter arrives to r …
Title Navy helicopter arrives to recover Apollo 10 astronauts
Description A Navy helicopter arrivies to recover the Apollo 10 astronauts, seen entering a life raft, as their spacecraft floats in the South Pacific immediately after touchdown. U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmers assist in the recovery operations. Splashdown occurred at 11:53 a.m., May 26, 1969, about 400 miles east of American Samoa. Note that in this photo the divers have attached a flotation collar to the spacecraft.
Date Taken 1969-05-26
Apollo 10 crewmember is pick …
Title Apollo 10 crewmember is pickup by recovery helicopter
Description A member of the Apollo 10 crew is hoisted up to a helicopter from the prime recovery ship, U.S.S. Pinceton. Splashdown occurred at 11:53 a.m., May 26, 1969, about 400 miles east of American Samoa.
Date Taken 1969-05-26
Astronaut Alan Bean assisted …
Title Astronaut Alan Bean assisted with egressing command module after landing
Description Astronaut Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, is assisted with egressing the Apollo 12 Command Module by a U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmer during recovery operations in the Pacific Ocean. Already in the life raft are Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., commander, and Richard F. Gordon Jr., command module pilot. The Apollo 12 splashdown occured at 2:58 p.m., November 24, 1969 near American Samoa.
Date Taken 1969-11-24
Apollo 12 Command Module nea …
Title Apollo 12 Command Module nears splashdown in the Pacific Ocean
Description The Apollo 12 Command Module, with Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr., and Alan L. Bean aboard, nears splashdown in the Pacific Ocean to conclude the second lunar landing mission. The Apollo 12 splashdown occurred at 2:58 p.m., November 24, 1969, near American Samoa.
Date Taken 1969-11-24
Navy swimmer assists Apollo …
Title Navy swimmer assists Apollo 12 crew during recovery operations
Description A U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmer assists the Apollo 12 crew during recovery operations in the Pacific. In the life raft are Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. (facing camera), commander, Richard F. Gordon Jr., (in the middle), command module pilot, and Alan L. Bean (nearest camera), lunar module pilot. The Apollo 12 splashdown occured at 2:58 p.m., November 24, 1969 near American Samoa.
Date Taken 1969-11-24
Astronauts Stafford and Youn …
Title Astronauts Stafford and Young await pickup by recovery helicopter
Description Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, commander, and John W. Young, command module pilot, await pickup by the recovery helicopter from the prime recovery ship, U.S.S. Pinceton. Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot, is already hoisted aboard the helicopter. U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmers assist in the recovery operations. Splashdown occurred at 11:53 a.m., May 26, 1969, about 400 miles east of American Samoa.
Date Taken 1969-05-26
Apollo 10 spacecraft with Na …
Title Apollo 10 spacecraft with Navy swimmers floating in recovery area
Description The Apollo 10 spacecraft, with Astronauts Stafford, Young, and Cernan still inside, floats in the South Pacific immediately after touchdown. U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmers assist in the recovery operations. Splashdown occurred at 11:53 a.m., May 26, 1969, about 400 miles east of American Samoa. Note that in this photo the divers have attached a flotation collar to the spacecraft.
Date Taken 1969-05-26
Apollo 10 spacecraft approac …
Title Apollo 10 spacecraft approaches touchdown in South Pacific recovery area
Description The Apollo 10 spacecraft approaches touchdown in the South Pacific recovery area to conclude an eight-day lunar orbit mission. Splashdown occurred at 11:53 a.m., May 26, 1969, about 400 miles east of American Samoa. Note that in this photo the capsules parachutes are fully deployed.
Date Taken 1969-05-26
Apollo 14 Command Module app …
Title Apollo 14 Command Module approaches touchdown in South Pacific Ocean
Description The Apollo 14 Command Module, with Astronauts Alan B. Shepard JR., Stuart A. Roosa, and Edgar D. Mitchell aboard, approaches touchdown in the South Pacific Ocean to end a ten-day lunar landing mission. The splashdown occured at 3:04:39 p.m., February 9, 1971, approximately 765 nautical miles south of American Samoa.
Date Taken 1971-02-09
Apollo 14 Command Module app …
Title Apollo 14 Command Module approaches touchdown in South Pacific Ocean
Description The Apollo 14 Command Module splashes down and two of its three main parachutes can be seen collapsing, as the ten-day lunar landing mission comes to an end. The splashdown occured at 3:04:39 p.m., February 9, 1971, approximately 765 nautical miles south of American Samoa.
Date Taken 1971-02-09
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