Elevation data used in these images were acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. The mission used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter (200-foot)-long mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between NASA, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, D.C.
 Click here to return to the main world map. The Space Shuttle Endeavour and the 60m long SRTM antenna deployed for image acquisition. "SRTMshuttle.jpg" 2005/08/19. Online Image. USGS. 2005/10/21 <http://mac.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/factsheets/fs07103.html> |
Two visualization methods were combined to produce the image: shading and color coding of topographic height. The shade image was derived by computing topographic slope in the north-south direction. Color coding is directly related to topographic height, with green at the lower elevations, rising through yellow, red, and magenta, to white at the highest elevations.
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. California Institute of Technology. 16 May 2005 <http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/dataprod.htm#Gallery>