The Process

Day 1

1. Learn how things look from space by clicking on and examining the following links.

· Rivers are very easy to identify.  The blue winding line is the Mississippi River as it winds between Hannibal, Missouri and Quincy, Illinois. The white area in this picture is Quincy, Illinois. Rivers can also look black from space.  Mississippi River

· All straight lines in space pictures are manmade things like roads, power lines, dams, etc.  The curvy lines are almost always natural things like rivers. 

· It is possible to tell populated urban areas (towns) from more rural areas (country.)  Towns and cities look lighter in color because the trees and vegetation are gone.  Rural areas tend to be darker because of all of the vegetation.  Town vs. Country

· Drainage patterns are easy to identify from space.  This picture shows the Ganges River Delta in Bangladesh and India.  Mountains Eroding

· Volcanoes are distinctive from space.  They look like circles. Volcano in Chile

· Deserts make great targets for several reasons:  no clouds, old drainage patterns, wind erosion, and evidence of pivot irrigation. Sand Dunes

· Agricultural fields are different sizes around the world. Fields show up as small squares made up by the roads surrounding the fields. Fields in a more populated area are smaller squares. Fields in the deserts are black circles because of the pivot irrigation necessary to make crops grow in the desert. Oklahoma Saudi Arabia

· Mountains are great targets, although you have trouble telling how tall they are. If the sun angle is right you can compare the length of shadows to tell which mountains are tallest. Sometimes mountains have snow and ice on them.  The tallest peaks would be the ones with snow. Nevada

· Coastlines are very interesting targets.  You can see erosion, river deltas, coral reefs, and where the continental shelf drops off.  Shallow water is a lighter color.  Coastline

Day 2

2. Now you have an idea what things might make educationally sound targets to study from space.  Click on one of the following EarthKAM target maps to choose a projected path of the ISS.

· You can only target the places directly under the lines. The camera will only take pictures of the areas under the path of the space station.

· Red lines are daytime orbits.

· Blue lines are night orbits.

· Target only under the red lines.

Print the map you choose.

Target Map 1 of Australia, Central America, and North America

Target Map 2 of Asia and Africa   

Target Map 3 of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa

3. After you select a target map, use this map to help you identify the continents. World Map  

4. Print this picture request form now so that you will know the questions you will have to answer.   Print this now.

5. Once you have chosen a continent you want to examine, click on the matching map below. 

· Look for anything of interest (mountains, rivers, cities, etc.) along the path of the International Space Station -ISS. 

· The camera takes a picture that is about 100 miles by 100 miles in size.

· You cannot see a person, a tree, or even a house. 

· However, you could see anything the size of a football field. 

· You could see large city blocks, but not individual buildings. 

Africa Central America North America South America Australia Europe Middle East Asia

· You may also use an atlas or globe to help you select targets. 

· If you are interested in a particular country or state in the US, look it up in an encyclopedia to find out interesting things you might target.  This may also help you with information when you make your picture request.

Day 3

6. Your final step is to complete the image request form that you printed and turn it and the map in to your teacher. Check the evaluation page to make sure you have completed the form completely and can get a good grade on it.