iss071e462185 (Aug. 9, 2024) --- Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Central Asian nation.

Barsakelmes Nature Reserve in the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan

September 22, the autumnal equinox, marks the beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere, but the fall harvest begins early in the harsh continental climate of eastern Kazakhstan. By September 9, 2013, when the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite acquired this image, several fields were already harvested and bare. Others were dark green with pasture grasses or ripening crops. The fields fill the contours of the land, running long and narrow down mountain valleys and spreading in large squares over the plains. Agriculture is an important segment of the economy in Kazakhstan: the country’s dry climate is ideal for producing high quality wheat for export. However, 61 percent of the country’s agricultural land is pasture for livestock. The area shown in this image, far eastern Kazakhstan near the Chinese border, is a minor wheat-growing region and may also produce sunflowers, barley, and other food crops. An artifact of Soviet-era collective farms, most of the farms in Kazakhstan are large, covering more than 5,000 hectares (12,500 acres). Some of the larger fields in the image reflect the big business side of agriculture. However, family farms and small agriculture businesses account for 35 percent of the country’s agricultural production, and some of these are visible as well, particularly in the uneven hills and mountains. Nearly all agriculture in Kazakhstan is rain fed. Farmers in this region have designed their fields to take advantage of rain flowing down hills, allowing the natural shape of the land to channel water to crops. The effect is a mosaic of green and tan with tones matching the natural vegetation in the mountains to the north. NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption by Holli Riebeek. Instrument: Landsat 8 - OLI More info: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/16IZ047" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/16IZ047</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Astana, Kazakhstan

Astana is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with a population of about 600,000. It was founded as a fort in 1824 on the Ishim River by Siberian Cossacks, and became a railway junction in the early 20th century. Astana became the capital of the newly-independent Kazakhstan in 1997. These two images were acquired March 20, 2001 and September 5, 2003, cover an area of 22.5 x 24 km, and are located near 51.2 degrees north latitude, 71.4 degrees east longitude. This image is from NASA Terra satellite. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10612

ISS017 prelaunch images from Kazakhstan

JSC2008-E-032795 (8 April 2008) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 17 Commander Sergei Volkov (center), Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko (right) and South Korean spaceflight participant So-yeon Yi bid farewell to well wishers April 8, 2008 prior to heading to the launch pad for their liftoff on the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft to the International Space Station. Volkov and Kononenko will spend six months on the station, while Yi will spend nine days on the complex under a commercial agreement between South Korea and the Russian Federal Space Agency. Photo Credit: NASA /Victor Zelentsov

Baikonur, formerly Leninsk, is a city in Kazakhstan rented and administered by the Russian Federation to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome where Sputnik launched in 1957. This image was acquired by NASA Terra spacecraft.

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Expedition 69 Landing Preparations

Russian Search and Recovery Force helicopters fly around the predicted landing zone for the Soyuz MS-23 capsule with Expedition 69 NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, outside of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. The trio are returning to Earth after logging 371 days in space as members of Expeditions 68-69 aboard the International Space Station. For Rubio, his mission is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut in history. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 69 Landing Preparations

A Russian Search and Recovery Force plane flies around the predicted landing zone for the Soyuz MS-23 capsule with Expedition 69 NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, outside of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. The trio are returning to Earth after logging 371 days in space as members of Expeditions 68-69 aboard the International Space Station. For Rubio, his mission is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut in history. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 53 Landing Preparations

Russian Search and Rescue teams deploy by helicopter from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017 to prepare for the Soyuz MS-05 landing with Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik of NASA and Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency) and Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian space agency Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Bresnik, Nespoli and Ryazanskiy are returning after 139 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 52 and 53 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)