This image captures the beauty of a major alluvial fan in Tsinghai, a province located in Northwestern China. This archival image was taken from NASA Space Shuttle in 1997 as part of its ISS EarthKAM mission.

This highly oblique image shot over northwestern part of the African continent captures the curvature of the Earth and shows its atmosphere as seen by NASA EarthKAM. You can see clouds and even the occasional thunderhead.

This image from NASA EarthKAM is of the northern end of the Persian Gulf and the broad delta complex of the Tigris, Euphrates, Shatt al Arab, and Karun rivers has captured the arid-looking wetlands of northeast Kuwait Bubiyan Island,

This image from NASA EarthKAM shows Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. The superb natural harbor at Lisbon is a commercially important European port handling much of the import-export traffic for Portugal and Spain.

The distinctive curve of Cape Cod, Massachusetts and the greater Boston urban area are very clear of the northeastern coast of the United States in this image from NASA EarthKAM.

This extraordinary image captures the meeting place of the deep waters of the Tongue of the Ocean and the much shallower, completely submerged Grand Bahama Bank. This image is from NASA EarthKAM.

This image from NASA EarthKAM is of Hawke Bay, one of the 12 local government regions of eastern North Island, New Zealand. It includes larger cities, such as Hastings and Napier.

This image from NASA EarthKAM is of Sakhalin Island, located just north of Japan and east of the Khabarovski and Primorski Krai of the Russian Far East. With the Kuril Islands, it forms Sakhalin Province.

This is an image from NASA EarthKAM of the Rio Gurupi in the Brazilian state of Maranhao and its delta. It is the only open sea delta in the Americas and has more than 70 islands of various sizes.

This image of the Galapagos Islands captures two large shield volcanoes on Isla Isabella, the largest and least inhabited island in the Galapagos chain. This image is from NASA EarthKAM.

The impermanent waterways shown here from NASA EarthKAM are part of Oued Irharrhar, which appear to be carrying sulfur yellow and iron red deposits. The city of Amguid is located on these waterways, and all lie in the Mouydir Mountains in Algeria.

This image from NASA EarthKAM shows pivot irrigation near the city of As Sulayyil Sulayel, Saudi Arabia. The edge of the Rub al-Khali or Empty Quarter is visible in the southeast.

This image from NASA EarthKAM captures almost all of Quinghai, the largest lake in China. It is located in the Quinghai Province on the Quinghai Tibetan Plateau.

The Andes Mountains, part of the Southern Cordillera formed from subduction zone volcanism at the convergent boundary of the Nazca plate and the South American plate. This image is from NASA EarthKAM.

Parts of the vast Ganges delta, in fact the world largest, lie in both Bangladesh and the State of West Bengal, India as seen by NASA EarthKAM.

This is an image of the southern portion of the Baja California Peninsula taken by NASA EarthKAM on February 12, 2000. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west and the Gulf of California to the east.

The light corner of the image from NASA EarthKAM is Lake Torrens, an ephemeral salt lake in South Australia. The twisted strata visible here is part of a rocky desert area in the Australian Outback.

This image from NASA EarthKAM captures the tropical beauty of the major islands of the Little Bahama Bank, the most northerly of the island groups that comprise the Bahamas.

Co-Founder of Sally Ride Science Karen Flammer talks about educational outreach programs for NASA, ISS EarthKAM, and Grail MoonKAM during the National Tribute to Sally Ride at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Monday, May 20, 2013 in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

ISS027-E-023644 (6 May 2011) --- NASA astronaut Ron Garan, Expedition 27 flight engineer, works with ISS Agricultural Camera (ISSAC) hardware in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. ISSAC, a successor of the earlier AgCam, will operate in conjunction with EarthKAM, both instruments to conduct simultaneous but independent operations in the WORF rack in Destiny.

ISS027-E-023655 (6 May 2011) --- NASA astronaut Ron Garan, Expedition 27 flight engineer, works with ISS Agricultural Camera (ISSAC) hardware in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. ISSAC, a successor of the earlier AgCam, will operate in conjunction with EarthKAM, both instruments to conduct simultaneous but independent operations in the WORF rack in Destiny.

ISS027-E-023658 (6 May 2011) --- NASA astronaut Ron Garan, Expedition 27 flight engineer, works with ISS Agricultural Camera (ISSAC) hardware in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. ISSAC, a successor of the earlier AgCam, will operate in conjunction with EarthKAM, both instruments to conduct simultaneous but independent operations in the WORF rack in Destiny.

ISS027-E-023657 (6 May 2011) --- NASA astronaut Ron Garan, Expedition 27 flight engineer, works with ISS Agricultural Camera (ISSAC) hardware in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. ISSAC, a successor of the earlier AgCam, will operate in conjunction with EarthKAM, both instruments to conduct simultaneous but independent operations in the WORF rack in Destiny.