International Space Station (ISS)
While the other satellites in this section aren't small, none of them compare to the International Space Station! The size of a football field and crewed by international members, the International Space Station provides a special opportunity to observe the Earth from Space.
Click through the image carousel to see images of the International Space Station from NASA.
When was the ISS launched?
The modules of the International Space Station were assembled in space, but the first module was sent into space in November 1998. The International Space Station has been continuously inhabited by crew members since November 2000.
What is the International Space Station's mission?
The International Space Station provides the opportunity to carry out scientific research not possible anywhere on Earth. This includes studying animal, plant, and human biology to find out how it is affected by the microgravity of space, but it also includes an Earth observation program to observe Earth's atmosphere and ecosystems.
What kinds of observations of Earth are made from the ISS? How do they help us learn about the Earth?
International crew members aboard the ISS have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures of the surface, ocean, and atmosphere of our planet. These photographs help record storms in real time and capture both expected and unexpected events and/or infrequent or short term events like volcanic eruptions or other natural disasters. Crew observations help track natural disasters, algal blooms, and Antarctic ice shelves, and help scientists understand Earth and its changing surface.
What types of instruments do crew members on the International Space Station use to observe the Earth?
The ISS has a number of instruments and programs that contribute to the Earth Observation program. They include:
The Window Observational Research Facility, which includes a stable window-based platform for cameras and sensors.
The International Space Station Agricultural Camera, which collects data to support agricultural activities in the Midwest of the United States.
The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean, which images coastal environments especially fisheries and oil spills.
The Crew Earth Observations, in which crew members take photographs of the Earth.
Tsiribihina River delta, Madagascar
In this crew photo, mud created by heavy rains is swept down river into the ocean, where it is drawn along the coast by ocean currents. Over time, this dirt is swept onto the beach by the waves, reinforcing and reshaping the shoreline. Is this weathering, erosion, or deposition?
Photo Credit: NASA
Boome, Australia
In this crew image of the coast of Western Australia, you can see imprints of streams reaching the bay. Each small tributary leaves behind a feather pattern. How are these streams changing the coastline?
Photo Credit: NASA
Eastern Russia
In the center of this crew picture, you can see an ancient inactive volcano, called Bolshaya Ipelka. The volcano is carved with deep valleys from glaciers flowing from its summit during the ice ages. The smaller, still active volcano in the left corner is still cone shaped. What processes flattened Bolshaya Ipelka from its cone shape?
Photo Credit: NASA
What can we see in these images that we couldn't see on Earth?
Like other Earth observation systems, photographs from the ISS provide an extreme birds-eye view that allows us to see geological feature formation in progress. In the collection of photographs above, you can see weathering, erosion, and deposition. Can you spot them?
What do these images tell us about the landscape they capture?
In these varied landscapes, we see how water impacts geography. In the first picture, tides and currents reshape the coastline. In the second, streams of water cut channels into the beach. In the final picture, ancient glaciers dug deep valleys into the sides of an inactive volcano.