astronauts aboard the space shuttle endeavour continue to gather radar data in their mission to create a high resolution three-dimensional map of the earth. the image on the left is of the city of las cruces, new mexico, but the speckle, an inherent effect of synthetic aperture radar images, hinders the evaluation of details. on the right is the same image after being processed to reveal high quality detail. (nasa/lr via reuters)
Interactive Satelite image of Las Cruces clickable zoom map

- Feb 13 4:35 PM EST


First Digital Elevation Model in the World
from the SRTM Mission!

Date: 12.02.2000
Scene Centre: 106° 47' 28,8" West
32° 58' 55,5" North
Region: White Sands / New Mexico, USA

Overview Enlarge map( Maps by Expedia.com Travel)
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Quick Look InterferogramWHITE SANDS 10 hours and 55 minutes after launch first data were sent to Earth for quality checks. At the mission control center in Houston, first quality checks were performed on the SRTM X-band data with a quicklook processor. It uses a super fast algorithm developed at DLR. These checks enable rapid verification of correct antenna pointing. The image on the right was produced within a matter of seconds. The image is a so-called interferogram that was produced by combining data from both antennas. The coloured stripes are phase-lines (fringes) that are utilized to calculate hight information in a next step. The raw data were sent to DLR's Research Centre 14 hours after launch (~08:00 UTC) via a dedicated satellite link. The precision interferogram was produced at 10:45 UTC.

InterferogramAmplitude Image

The scene shows an area near White Sands, New Mexico, USA and covers approx. 50 km x 150 km (30x90 miles). The left image is the interferogram the right one is the corresponding RADAR image. The individual phase values appear as coloured rings. The steeper the slopes, the closer the fringes. So, topography can already be seen directly in the interferogram. The gray values in the RADAR image represent the strength of the reflected RADAR signal. The stronger the backscatter towards the antenna, the brighter the image. The black area in the upper part of the images is a lake (reservoir). It is black because smooth water surfaces reflect RADAR like a mirror. No backscatter is returned towards the antennas onboard the shuttle. (DEM) The first DEM was produced in record time and was finished at 12:30 UTC. The individual phase values are converted to height values and properly oriented north-south taking into account both the position of the shuttle and the secondary antenna on the tip of the boom, The San Andres Mountain Range crosses the image from North to South.