Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center
Playing in the sandAmong the best applications of ISS Earth Observation, according to Evans, is the perspective it offers on human development. For example, this Jan. 13, 2010, image of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates shows several of the city's features built with an aerial perspective in mind.
On the left is Palm Jumeira, a palm tree – shaped island made with more than 1.7 billion cubic feet of dredged sand. On the right are the World Islands, which were completed in 2008 with 11.3 billion cubic feet of sand. The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper at 2,217 feet that opened on Jan. 4, can be picked out in the lower right of the image |