Earth Observatory HomeNASAEarth Observatory HomeData and ImagesFeaturesNewsReferenceMissionsExperimentsSearch
NASA's Earth Observatory
 Earth Observatory Navigation Bar
Reference

  About Human Spaceflight
 
Information courtesy of the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center

Earthrise photographed from Apollo 8
Apollo 8 astronauts saw this unprecedented view of Earth as they came from behind the far side of the moon in December 1968.

Although most of NASA’s Earth Science activities are conducted using free-flying satellite sensors, spacecraft with humans on board also make important contributions to our understanding of the Earth. Astronaut photography of Earth from the first space flights in the 1960s formed the foundation for the remote sensing technologies that followed (Lowman 1999). As the number of sensors and satellites in orbit has increased, the baseline activity by astronauts has also continued. Human Spaceflight now includes missions on the Space Shuttle Orbiters and the International Space Station. The types of missions include specific sensors that are flown to collect data for a short period of time, and ongoing efforts by the astronauts to photograph the Earth below them as they orbit the planet.

Space shuttle approaching International Space Station

next: International Space Station

 

pullquote

About Human Spaceflight
Introduction
International Space Station
Space Shuttle
Astronaut Photography
References

   
Subscribe to the Earth Observatory
About the Earth Observatory
Please send comments or questions to: eobmail@eodomo.gsfc.nasa.gov
Responsible NASA official: Yoram Kaufman
  View Printable Format of Full Article

The above content is a copy of the original posting of this article as it appeared on http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov.
Contact information regarding its posting in this archive is below:
Send questions or comments about this web page to the NASA Responsible Official at jsc-earthweb@mail.nasa.gov
Curator: Earth Sciences Web Team
Notices: Web Accessibility and Policy Notices, NASA Web Privacy Policy