P-48146 December 19, 1996
This spaceborne radar image shows the eastern edge of the Dakhla
Oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt, about 600 kilometers (370
miles) south of Cairo. The bright white stripe running from the
lower left to the upper right of the image is created as the
radar signal bounces off the eroded cliff faces of the Kharga
Escarpment. The diagonal purple and yellow stripes in the upper
left are rock outcrops of limestone, shale and chalk from the
Cretaceous period. The villages of Balat, Bashindi and Tineida,
built on recent dry lake deposits, are shown in the lower center
and lower left of the image. Although parts of these villages
date back to 2000 B.C., agricultural practices have expanded
greatly in recent years as part of a development known as the
"New Valley." The white features below and to the right of the
villages are outcrops of Nubian sandstone, the construction
material used to build many of the Pharaohs' temples. Scientists
are using radar imaging in desert areas to study structural
geology, mineral exploration, ancient climates, water resources
and archaeology. This image was acquired by Spaceborne Imaging
Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) onboard the
space shuttle Endeavour on April 14, 1994. The image is 50.0
kilometers by 43.5 kilometers (31.0 miles by 27.0 miles) and is
centered at 25.5 degrees north latitude, 29.3 degrees east
longitude. North is toward the upper left. The colors are
assigned to different radar frequencies and polarizations of the
radar as follows: red is L-band, horizontally transmitted and
received; green is L-band, horizontally transmitted, vertically
received; and blue is C-band, horizontally transmitted and
received. SIR-C/X-SAR, a joint mission of the German, Italian and
United States space agencies, is part of NASA's research program
called Mission to Planet Earth.
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Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt e.v.(DLR), the major partner in science, operations, and data processing of X-SAR.
Last Modified: 07/14/00
CSR/TSGC Team Web
