NASA Daily News Summary For Release: Sept. 7, 1999 Media Advisory m99-182 Summary: NASA Video File for Sept. 7, 1999 NASA has issued no news releases today. If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e-mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list. Index of 1999 NASA News Releases: http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html ****** NASA Video File for Sept. 7, 1999 Item 1 - LANDSAT 7 BEGINS FULL TIME EARTH OBSERVATIONS - TRT 45:00 minutes (approximately) Item 2 - NASA'S ICEBERG WATCH (replay) - TRT 0:30 minutes Item 3 - AIRBORNE IMAGES OF FIRE IN CALIFORNIA'S SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY (replay) - TRT 0:51 minutes Item 1: LANDSAT 7 BEGINS FULL TIME EARTH OBSERVATIONS TRT - 45:00 minutes Contact at Goddard Space Flight Center: Lynn Chandler, Goddard Public Affairs (301) 614-5562. Contact at Headquarters: Dave Steitz (202) 358-1730. SYNOPSIS: After soaring to space last spring, NASA's latest Earth-imaging satellite has completed its check-out phase and is now "open for business." New images from the Landsat 7 spacecraft are now available for viewing and purchase by scientific researchers and the general public via the Internet from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA. Item 1a. LANDSAT ANIMATIONS Landsat 7 is the latest in a series of Earth observing satellites that have provided remotely sensed observations of the Earth's land surface and coastal regions for over 26 years. Landsat 7 marks a new direction in the program to reduce the costs of data and increase global coverage for use in global change research. Item 1b. COLLECTING THE DATA The instrument on Landsat 7 is the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM). ETM is a passive sensor that measures reflected or emitted light from the Earth's surface. The images produced by Landsat provide information on subjects such as crop planning, timber issues, population changes, water quality, while meeting the needs of business, science, education, government, and national security. Item 1c. MAKING THE IMAGES - THE LAYERS OF SAN FRANCISCO By combining different spectral bands from the ETM camera, researchers can produce images highlighting different features of the land. - "Wide Spectral Range" - highlights cleared land (red), forests in dark green. - "False Color Infrared" (vegetation shows as red, artificial structures show as gray) - "Natural Color" (shallow water and sedimentation patterns) - "Forest Bands" (Highlights differences in forest composition) - "NDVI" (sensitive to chlorophyll, phytoplankton) Item 1d. ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM This is an illustration of the different colors of light within the electromagnetic spectrum. Landsat 7 not only has detectors positioned to look at wavelength regions of light that we can see with our eyes - blue, green, and red, but it also looks into areas we cannot see in the near- and short- wave infrared. The natural color wavelength regions can be redisplayed similar to a photograph, while those regions that we cannot see are assigned colors to make them visible. Item 1e. INCREASED THERMAL RESOLUTION This is the Colima Volcano eruption in Mexico as seen from Landsat 7. Increases in Landsat 7's thermal band resolution allowed scientists to monitor the hotter regions around the peak. Item 1f. INCREASED PANCHROMATIC BAND RESOLUTION Scientists can used the improved resolution in Landsat 7 Pan bands to increase the effective resolution of the overall image. Item 1g. SCIENTISTS AT EROS Landsat 7 will collect and archive an unprecedented quantity of high-quality multispectral data each day. The primary receiving station for LANDSAT 7 data will be at the U. S. Geological Surveys (USGS) EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Scientists are seen working with the data. Item 1h. STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND Students at the University of Maryland work with Landsat data. Item 1i. LANDSAT 7 IS READIED AT VALLEY FORGE, PA Landsat 7 is readied and inspected in the clean room at Valley Forge, PA in preparation for launch. Item 1j. LANDSAT 7 LAUNCH The satellite lifted off on April 15, 1999 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Vandenberg AFB. Item 1k. THE LANDSAT SERIES - HISTORICAL FOOTAGE NASA launched the first satellite in the Landsat series on July 23, 1972. Landsat 5 was launched in March 1984 and is still returning images. Item 1l. INTERVIEW EXCERPT - DARREL WILLIAMS Darrel Williams Landsat Project Scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight Center --------------- (Slate Only) Data collected from various Landsat spacecraft show dramatic changes to the environment from natural events and human influence. By collecting images of the same areas over long stretches of time, complex trend analyses are possible to a degree unattainable without remote sensing technologies. -------------------------- Item 1m. DEFORESTATION The clearing of the rain forest can be seen near Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Item 1n. URBAN GROWTH The Washington D.C. metropolitan area shows the dramatic growth taking place from 1973 through 1996. The three stages shown are taken from these dates: 1973-1985 (red), 1985-1990 (orange), and 1990-1996 (yellow). Item 1o MEXICO CITY When images from Landsat are combined with elevation data, they can yield additional information about the region. In this image of Mexico City, note the ring of mountains that tend to concentrate smog and other pollutants. The city is built upon sediment which make the region vulnerable to earthquakes. Item 1p. LANDSAT 7 NATIONAL TOUR OF GRAND SPACES New visualizations generated from Landsat 7 data depict a number of U.S. national parks and other locations in spectacular detail. The images displayed here are generally overlaid on terrain maps, showing peaks, valleys, water, and human made structures as viewed from space. Cape Canaveral and Central Florida Chesapeake Bay Region Crater Lake Death Valley Florida Everglades Glacier Bay Glacier Park Grand Canyon Mt. Rainier Mt. St. Helen's Volcano Pacific Northwest Traverse, including the Cascade Mountains and Seattle Yosemite National Park ******** Item 2 - NASA'S ICEBERG WATCH (replay) - TRT 0:30 minutes Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA: Diane Ainsworth 818/354-5011. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: David E. Steitz 202/358-1730. ******** Item 3 - AIRBORNE IMAGES OF FIRE IN CALIFORNIA'S SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY (replay) - TRT 0:51 minutes Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA: Diane Ainsworth 818/354-5011. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: David E. Steitz 202/358-1730. __________ ********** ----- Unless otherwise noted, ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN. 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