NASA STS-130 Pilot Terry Virts throws the opening pitch at Nationals Park on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, in Washington. Photo Credit: (Courtesy of the Washington Nationals)

America National Parks Viewed in 3D by NASA MISR Anaglyph 4

Just in time for the U.S. National Park Service's Centennial celebration on Aug. 25, NASA's Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite is releasing four new anaglyphs that showcase 33 of our nation's national parks, monuments, historical sites and recreation areas in glorious 3D. Shown in the annotated image are Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Manzanar National Historic Site, Devils Postpile National Monument, Yosemite National Park, and parts of Death Valley National Park. MISR views Earth with nine cameras pointed at different angles, giving it the unique capability to produce anaglyphs, stereoscopic images that allow the viewer to experience the landscape in three dimensions. The anaglyphs were made by combining data from MISR's vertical-viewing and 46-degree forward-pointing camera. You will need red-blue glasses in order to experience the 3D effect; ensure you place the red lens over your left eye. The images have been rotated so that north is to the left in order to enable 3D viewing because the Terra satellite flies from north to south. All of the images are 235 miles (378 kilometers) from west to east. These data were acquired July 7, 2016, Orbit 88051. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20892

America National Parks Viewed in 3D by NASA MISR Anaglyph 1

Just in time for the U.S. National Park Service's Centennial celebration on Aug. 25, NASA's Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite is releasing four new anaglyphs that showcase 33 of our nation's national parks, monuments, historical sites and recreation areas in glorious 3D. Shown in the annotated image are Walnut Canyon National Monument, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, Pipe Spring National Monument, Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Navajo National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Natural Bridges National Monument, Canyonlands National Park, and Arches National Park. MISR views Earth with nine cameras pointed at different angles, giving it the unique capability to produce anaglyphs, stereoscopic images that allow the viewer to experience the landscape in three dimensions. The anaglyphs were made by combining data from MISR's vertical-viewing and 46-degree forward-pointing camera. You will need red-blue glasses in order to experience the 3D effect; ensure you place the red lens over your left eye. The images have been rotated so that north is to the left in order to enable 3D viewing because the Terra satellite flies from north to south. All of the images are 235 miles (378 kilometers) from west to east. These data were acquired June 18, 2016, Orbit 87774. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20889

NASA STS-130 Pilot Terry Virts, right, is interviewed by Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) reporter Debbie Taylor at Nationals Park Tuesday, April 20, 2010, in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

STS-130 Nationals Park Visit

America National Parks Viewed in 3D by NASA MISR Anaglyph 3

Just in time for the U.S. National Park Service's Centennial celebration on Aug. 25, NASA's Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite is releasing four new anaglyphs that showcase 33 of our nation's national parks, monuments, historical sites and recreation areas in glorious 3D. Shown in the annotated image are Lewis and Clark National Historic Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, San Juan Island National Historic Park, North Cascades National Park, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, and Ross Lake National Recreation Area (also Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, administered by the U.S. Forest Service) MISR views Earth with nine cameras pointed at different angles, giving it the unique capability to produce anaglyphs, stereoscopic images that allow the viewer to experience the landscape in three dimensions. The anaglyphs were made by combining data from MISR's vertical-viewing and 46-degree forward-pointing camera. You will need red-blue glasses in order to experience the 3D effect; ensure you place the red lens over your left eye. The images have been rotated so that north is to the left in order to enable 3D viewing because the Terra satellite flies from north to south. All of the images are 235 miles (378 kilometers) from west to east. These data were acquired May 12, 2012, Orbit 65960. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20891

America National Parks Viewed in 3D by NASA MISR Anaglyph 2

Just in time for the U.S. National Park Service's Centennial celebration on Aug. 25, NASA's Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite is releasing four new anaglyphs that showcase 33 of our nation's national parks, monuments, historical sites and recreation areas in glorious 3D. Shown in the annotated image are Grand Teton National Park, John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway, Yellowstone National Park, and parts of Craters of the Moon National Monument. MISR views Earth with nine cameras pointed at different angles, giving it the unique capability to produce anaglyphs, stereoscopic images that allow the viewer to experience the landscape in three dimensions. The anaglyphs were made by combining data from MISR's vertical-viewing and 46-degree forward-pointing camera. You will need red-blue glasses in order to experience the 3D effect; ensure you place the red lens over your left eye. The images have been rotated so that north is to the left in order to enable 3D viewing because the Terra satellite flies from north to south. All of the images are 235 miles (378 kilometers) from west to east. These data were acquired June 25, 2016, Orbit 87876. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20890

Sequoia National Park

Naked peaks, sheltered valleys, snowfields, towering trees, and alpine meadows make up the varied landscape of Sequoia National Park in California. Established as a National Park by Congress on September 25, 1890, Sequoia National Park is the second-oldest U.S. National Park, after Yellowstone. This national park borders Kings Canyon National Park. The Thematic Mapper sensor on NASA’s Landsat 5 satellite captured this true-color image of Sequoia National Park, outlined in white, on October 22, 2008. Sunlight illuminates southern slopes, leaving northern faces in shadow in this autumn image. In the west, deep green conifers carpet most of the land. These forested mountains are home to the park’s most famous giant sequoia trees. Sequoia National Park sits at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Terrain alternates between extremes, from peaks such as Mt. Whitney—the highest peak in the contiguous United States—to deep caverns. The rivers and lakes in this region are part of a watershed valuable not only to the plants and animals of the park, but also to farms and cities in California’s Central Valley. Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/2bzGOXr" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2bzGOXr</a> Credit: NASA/Landsat5 <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/NASAGoddardPix" 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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

NASA STS-130 crew Commander George Zamka, far left, Pilot Terry Virts, Mission Specialists Kathryn Hire, Stephen Robinson, Nicholas Patrick and Robert Behnken, far right, pose for pictures on the field at Nationals Park, Tuesday, April 20, 2010, in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

STS-130 Nationals Park Visit

Redwood National Park

In 1968, after state parks had already been established in northern California, the U.S. Congress established Redwood National Park. This new park supplemented protected lands in the region, and in 1994, state and federal authorities agreed to jointly manage the area’s public lands. On February 6, 2003, the Enhanced Thamatic Mapper Plus on NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite captured this true-color image of the southern end of Redwood National Park - a thin coastal corridor connects the northern and southern ends of the park system. Along the coast, sandy beaches appear off-white, and sediments form swirls of pale blue in the darker blue sea. Inland, the park is dominated by green vegetation, with isolated patches of gray-beige rock. This image of the Redwood National Park includes two stands of trees: Lady Bird Johnson Grove and Tall Trees Grove. The first grove was dedicated to the former first lady by President Richard Nixon in August 1969. The second grove became the focus of efforts to protect the surrounding area from logging. Two waterways appear in this image: Redwood Creek and Klamath River. The more conspicuous Klamath River flows through the park system’s midsection (north of the area pictured here). Redwood Creek flows through the southern portion of the park system. Both waterways have carved gorges through the mountainous landscape. Redwood National and State Parks occupy an area considered to be the most seismically active in the United States. The frequent seismic activity has led to shifting waterways, landslides, and rapid erosion along the coastline. Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/2bRlryv" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2bRlryv</a> Credit: NASA/Landsat7 <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/NASAGoddardPix" 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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park is one of the most visited parks in America, drawing more than 2.5 million visitors per year to the craggy, jagged coast of Maine. The park is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2016. On September 6, 2015, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite acquired these images of Acadia National Park and its surroundings. Mountains and hills roll right up to the Atlantic Ocean in this rocky landscape carved by glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. Since the beginning of the 20th Century, the park has been pieced together by donations and acquisitions of once-private lands, and it is still growing. Of the park’s 47,000 acres, more than 12,000 are privately owned lands under conservation agreements, while the rest is held by the National Park Service. Mount Desert Island is the focal point of the park, which also includes lands around a former naval base (Schoodic Peninsula), Isle au Haut, and several smaller islands. Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/2adyd8J" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2adyd8J</a> Credit: NASA/Landsat8 <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/NASAGoddardPix" 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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Big Bend National Park

Alternately known as a geologist’s paradise and a geologist’s nightmare, Big Bend National Park in southwestern Texas offers a multitude of rock formations. Sparse vegetation makes finding and observing the rocks easy, but they document a complicated geologic history extending back 500 million years. On May 10, 2002, the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus on NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite captured this natural-color image of Big Bend National Park. A black line delineates the park perimeter. The arid landscape appears in muted earth tones, some of the darkest hues associated with volcanic structures, especially the Rosillos and Chisos Mountains. Despite its bone-dry appearance, Big Bend National Park is home to some 1,200 plant species, and hosts more kinds of cacti, birds, and bats than any other U.S. national park. Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/2bzGaZU" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2bzGaZU</a> Credit: NASA/Landsat7 <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/NASAGoddardPix" 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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

NASA STS-130 crew pose with Winter Olympics medalist Apolo Ohno, center, at Nationals Park, Tuesday, April 20, 2010, in Washington. Pictured from left are STS-130 Mission Specialist Robert Benhken, Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick, Commander George Zamka, Apolo Ohno, Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson, Mission Specialist Kathryn Hire and Pilot Terry Virts. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

STS-130 Nationals Park Visit

The crew of STS-130 present the principal owner of the Washington Nationals, Debra Lerner Cohen (holding montage) with a montage of their mission, Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at Nationals Park in Washington. From left are seen Commander George Zamka, Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick, Pilot Terry Virts, Debra Lerner Cohen, Edward Cohen, Mission Specialist Kathryn Hire, Mission Specialist Robert Behnken, Lauren Lerner, Jacob Lerner and Alan Gottlieb. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Olympic National Park

It has to be one of America’s most diverse national park landscapes. If you walked from west to east across Olympic National Park, you would start at the rocky Pacific shoreline, move into rare temperate rainforests and lush river valleys, ascend glaciers and rugged mountain peaks, and then descend into a comparatively dry rain shadow and alpine forest. From the beach to the top of Mount Olympus, you would rise 7,980 feet (2430 meters) above sea level. Situated on the Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington, these lands were first set aside as a national monument in 1909 by Theodore Roosevelt. Twenty-nine years later, his cousin Franklin officially established Olympic National Park. International institutions have also made a case for treasuring this land, as the area was declared an International Biosphere Reserve in 1976 and a World Heritage Site in 1981. The park encompasses nearly 923,000 acres of wild lands, including 60 named glaciers, 73 miles of coast, and 3,000 miles of rivers and streams. Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/2bRmzSJ" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2bRmzSJ</a> Credit: NASA/Landsat8 <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/NASAGoddardPix" 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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Biscayne National Park

On February 25, 2016, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite acquired this natural-color image of Biscayne National Park. The park encompasses the northernmost Florida Keys, starting from Miami to just north of Key Largo. The keys run like a spine through the center of the park, with Biscayne Bay to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The water-covered areas span more than 660 square kilometers (250 square miles) of the park, making it the largest marine park in the U.S. National Park System. Biscayne protects the longest stretch of mangrove forest on the U.S. East Coast, and one of the most extensive stretches of coral reef in the world. Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/1SWs1a3" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/1SWs1a3</a> Credit: NASA/Landsat8 <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/NASAGoddardPix" 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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Shenandoah National Park

On July 3, 1936, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stood amidst the crowd in Big Meadows and officially dedicated Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The Thematic Mapper on the Landsat satellite captured this view of the heart of Shenandoah National Park on October 10, 2010, at the height of the fall “leaf-peeping” season. The orange and brown swath across the image highlights the hilly backbone of the park, where leaves had turned to their fall colors. The 169-kilometer (105-mile) Skyline Drive that meanders across the crest of the ridge is often jammed with tourists in autumn. The park includes more than 518 miles of hiking trails, including more than 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The highest peak is Hawksbill Mountain at 4,051 feet (1,235 m), but the most popular with hikers is Old Rag Mountain. A circuitous eight-mile (13 kilometer) trail leads to an exposed, rocky summit 3,291 feet (1,003 meters) above sea level. The 2,200 foot elevation change from base to summit, combined with several rock scrambles, make Old Rag not only the most popular but also the most dangerous hike. Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/2bRnFxH" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2bRnFxH</a> Credit: NASA/Landsat5 <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/NASAGoddardPix" 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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Rocky Mountain National Park

Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park presents a very different landscape in summertime than in wintertime. Snow retreats and gives way to blooms of wildflowers, even at high elevations. Roads and trails become accessible, allowing visitors easier access to the rugged mountain trails and vistas. The diversity of the park’s landscape is visible in this image, acquired on September 20, 2014, with the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite. Except for a few patches, seasonal snow is mostly gone. Even the “Never Summer Mountains”—a range along the park’s northwest border known to receive snow any time of year—appears to be temporarily snow-free. Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/29Rmz4Y" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/29Rmz4Y</a> Credit: NASA/Landsat8 <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/NASAGoddardPix" 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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Yosemite National Park

Naked summits alternate with forested lowlands in Yosemite Valley, part of California’s Yosemite National Park. During the Pleistocene Ice Age, glaciers sculpted the underlying rocks in this region, leaving behind canyons, waterfalls, rugged peaks, and granite domes. As the ice retreated, forests grew, but forests only extend as high as 2,900 meters (9,500 feet) above sea level. Above the tree line are rocky landscapes with sparse alpine vegetation. So from the sky, Yosemite Valley appears as a light-and-dark patchwork of forest, rock, and shadow. The Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus on NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite captured this true-color image of part of Yosemite Valley on August 18, 2001. The valley runs roughly east-west, and tall granite peaks lining the valley’s southern side cast long shadows across the valley floor. On the valley’s northern side, steep slopes appear almost white. Along the valley floor, roadways form narrow, meandering lines of off-white, past parking lots, buildings, and meadows. On the north side of Yosemite Valley is El Capitan. Shooting straight up more than 915 meters (3,000 feet) above the valley floor, El Capitan is considered the largest granite monolith in the world. This granite monolith sits across the valley from Bridalveil Fall, one of the valley’s most prominent waterfalls. Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/2bzGo3d" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2bzGo3d</a> Credit: NASA/Landsat7 <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/NASAGoddardPix" 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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

NASA STS-130 Pilot Terry Virts, center, is interviewed by Washington Nationals radio broadcasters Charlie Slowes, right, and David Jageler on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

STS-130 Nationals Park Visit

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

NASA Terra spacecraft imaged the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rintja, Padar, and Flores in the Komodo National Park. The Komodo dragon is the world largest lizard species.

Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Torres del Paine National Park

Grinding glaciers and granite peaks mingle in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this summertime image of the park on January 21, 2013. This image shows just a portion of the park, including Grey Glacier and the mountain range of Cordillera del Paine. The rivers of glacial ice in Torres del Paine National Park grind over bedrock, turning some of that rock to dust. Many of the glaciers terminate in freshwater lakes, which are rich with glacial flour that colors them brown to turquoise. Skinny rivers connect some of the lakes to each other (image upper and lower right). Cordillera del Paine rises between some of the wide glacial valleys. The compact mountain range is a combination of soaring peaks and small glaciers, most notably the Torres del Paine (Towers of Paine), three closely spaced peaks emblematic of the mountain range and the larger park. By human standards, the mountains of Cordillera del Paine are quite old. But compared to the Rocky Mountains (70 million years old), and the Appalachians (about 480 million years), the Cordillera del Paine are very young—only about 12 million years old. A study published in 2008 described how scientists used zircon crystals to estimate the age of Cordillera del Paine. The authors concluded that the mountain range was built in three pulses, creating a granite laccolith, or dome-shaped feature, more than 2,000 meters (7,000 feet) thick. NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using Advanced Land Imager data from the NASA EO-1 team. Caption by Michon Scott. Instrument: EO-1 - ALI View more info: <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=80266" rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=80266</a> Credit: <a href="http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NASA Earth Observatory</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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Daintree National Park, Australia

Indigenous Australian owners have been returned the Daintree National Park in northeast Australia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. More than 160,000 hectares of the 130 million year old rainforest were returned to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people, who have lived in the area for more than 50,000 years. The image was acquired September 3, 2018, covers an area of 29.6 by 30.3 km, and is located at 16.3 degrees south, 145.4 degrees east. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24869

Saturn, top, and Jupiter, below, are seen after sunset from Shenandoah National Park, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in Luray, Virginia. The two planets are drawing closer to each other in the sky as they head towards a “great conjunction” on December 21, where the two giant planets will appear a tenth of a degree apart. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Saturn and Jupiter Conjunction

Meadow Fire in Yosemite National Park, California

The Meadow Fire in Yosemite National Park is a remote, hold-over lightning caused fire which began on September 4 and is located five miles east of Yosemite Valley, CA. The fuel burning is timber and brush. There is active fire behavior with long range spotting. The National Park Service reports that a fire, that may be a spot fire, from the Meadow lightning-caused fire, was discovered at approximately 12:30 PM, Sunday September 7. The fire is approximately 2,582 acres. It is burning within the Little Yosemite Valley on both sides of the Merced River. All trails in the area are closed. Approximately 100 hikers and backpackers were evacuated from the fire area in Little Yosemite Valley. Half-Dome, a popular tourist destination, has been closed. The fire is burning in Yosemite Wilderness. Eighty-five hikers and climbers were also evacuated from the summit of Half Dome by helicopters from the California Highway Patrol, US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park, and CAL Fire. This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on Sept. 07, 2014. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner with information from the National Park Service and the National Interagency Coordination Center. <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/NASAGoddardPix" 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>

Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, Australia

At the northern tip of Northern Territory, Australia, the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park spans the entire Cobourg Peninsula. Nearly the whole peninsula is Aboriginal land, and the park is managed as a sanctuary under the direction of traditional Aboriginal landowners. The first wetlands to be declared "Wetlands of International Importance" by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands International Treaty are located in this park. The image was acquired April 12, 2016, covers an area of 48.2 by 58.6 km, and is located at 11.3 degrees south, 132.2 degrees east. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24732

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts at the National Park Service

Park ranger Rader Lane speaks on the National Park Service’s astronomy and dark sky programs at Grand Canyon National Park during a visit by NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough of NASA, and Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Thursday, June 9, 2022 at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. Kimbrough, McArthur, Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet completed the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program and spent 198 days aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts at the National Park Service

Park ranger Rader Lane speaks on the National Park Service’s astronomy and dark sky programs at Grand Canyon National Park during a visit by NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough of NASA, and Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Thursday, June 9, 2022 at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. Kimbrough, McArthur, Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet completed the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program and spent 198 days aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

This nadir camera view was captured by NASA Terra spacecraft around Kruger National Park in NE South Africa. The bright white feature is the Palabora Copper Mine, and the water body near upper right is Lake Massingir in Mozambique.

NASA MISR Views Kruger National Park

Canyonlands National Park, UT, USA

SL2-81-014 (22 June 1973) --- Desert and mountain scenery along the Utah/Colorado border are displayed in this scene of the Canyonlands National Park, UT (39.0N, 110.0W). The park occupies the near center of the image, displaying spectacular incised meanders and the bulls-eye structure of Upheaval Dome (a salt dome). The Green River and the Colorado River flow southward to join (off scene) before flowing through the Grand Canyon National Park. Photo credit: NASA

Shenandoah National Park lies astride part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which form the southeastern range of the greater Appalachian Mountains in Virginia.

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, Shaded Relief with Height as Color

Rim Fire Expands into Yosemite National Park

The Rim Fire burning in the Stanislaus National Forest in California has crossed into the Yosemite National Park. The fire has burned more than 105,000 acres, approximately 162 square miles, of brush, oak and pine trees in steep and marginally accessible terrain. This image was taken by the Suomi NPP satellite's Day-Night Band around 0950Z on August 23, 2013. Credit NASA/NOAA <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>

Yellowstone Lake/National Park

STS068-247-061 (30 September-11 October 1994) --- Photographed through the Space Shuttle Endeavour's flight windows, this 70mm frame centers on Yellowstone Lake in the Yellowstone National Park. North will be at the top if picture is oriented with series of sun glinted creeks and river branches at top center. The lake, at 2,320 meters (7,732 feet) above sea level, is the largest high altitude lake in North America. East of the park part of the Absaroka Range can be traced by following its north to south line of snow capped peaks. Jackson Lake is southeast of Yellowstone Park, and the connected Snake River can be seen in the lower left corner. Yellowstone, established in 1872 is the world's oldest national park. It covers an area of 9,000 kilometers (3,500 square miles), lying mainly on a broad plateau of the Rocky Mountains on the Continental Divide. It's average altitude is 2,440 meters (8,000 feet) above sea level. The plateau is surrounded by mountains exceeding 3,600 meters (12,000 feet) in height. Most of the plateau was formed from once-molten lava flows, the last of which is said to have occurred 100,000 years ago. Early volcanic activity is still evident in the region by nearly 10,000 hot springs, 200 geysers and numerous vents found throughout the park.

2017 Total Solar Eclipse

The Moon is seen passing in front of the Sun during a solar eclipse from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park, Washington on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

2017 Total Solar Eclipse

The Moon is seen passing in front of the Sun during a solar eclipse from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park, Washington on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

2017 Total Solar Eclipse

The Moon is seen as it starts passing in front of the Sun during a solar eclipse from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park, Washington on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

2017 Total Solar Eclipse

The Moon is seen passing in front of the Sun during a solar eclipse from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park, Washington on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

2017 Total Solar Eclipse

The Sun is seen as it rises behind Jack Mountain head of the solar eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park, Washington. A total solar eclipse will sweep across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts at the National Park Service

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur shows pictures of National Parks taken from the International Space Station during Expeditions 65 and 66 during a presentation to leadership and rangers who participate in the National Park Service’s astronomy and dark sky programs, Thursday, June 9, 2022 at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. McArthur, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, flew on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission, the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, and spent 198 days aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts at the National Park Service

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur points to the shadow of the Gateway Arch on the Mississippi River in St. Louis while showing images of National Parks taken from the International Space Station during Expeditions 65 and 66 during a presentation to leadership and rangers who participate in the National Park Service’s astronomy and dark sky programs, Thursday, June 9, 2022 at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. McArthur, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, flew on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission, the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, and spent 198 days aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

This image, acquired by NASA Terra spacecraft, is of the Carstens, Calif. wildfire which continues to burn in the foothills west of Yosemite National Park. Vegetation is displayed in green and burned and bare areas are dark to light gray.

NASA Spacecraft Images Wildfire Near Yosemite National Park

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts at the National Park Service

Shannon Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior, delivers remarks during a visit by NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts with leadership and rangers who participate in the National Park Service’s astronomy and dark sky programs, Thursday, June 9, 2022 at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet completed the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program and spent 198 days aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts at the National Park Service

Shannon Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior, delivers remarks during a visit by NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts with leadership and rangers who participate in the National Park Service’s astronomy and dark sky programs, Thursday, June 9, 2022 at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet completed the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program and spent 198 days aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts at the National Park Service

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), left, Shane Kimbrough, second from left, and Megan McArthur, second from right, of NASA, pose for a picture with Shannon Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior, center, and park ranger Rader Lane, right, after presenting a montage to the National Park Service during a visit to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Thursday, June 9, 2022, Washington, DC. Kimbrough, McArthur, Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet completed the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program and spent 198 days aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

iss072e398046 (Dec. 20, 2024) --- Wildfires are spotted in Mount Frankland National Park about 195 miles south of Perth, Western Australia, in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 266 miles above the island continent.

Wildfires are spotted in Australia's Mount Frankland National Park

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts at the National Park Service

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide speak about NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission during a presentation with leadership and rangers who participate in the National Park Service’s astronomy and dark sky programs, Thursday, June 9, 2022 at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. Kimbrough, Hoshide, NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet completed the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program and spent 198 days aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts at the National Park Service

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), left, and NASA astronauts Megan McArthur, center, and Shane Kimbrough, right, look at Thomas Moran’s 1872 painting “The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone,” Thursday, June 9, 2022, during a visit to the National Park Service at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. Kimbrough, McArthur, Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet completed the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program and spent 198 days aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Rendering of Mars Hill in Death Valley National Park

This rendering was created by research drones flying over Mars Hill, a region of Death Valley National Park that has been used by NASA’s Mars researchers since the 1970s, when the agency was preparing to land the twin Viking spacecraft. The hill’s rubbly, volcanic rock resembles the kind of inhospitable terrain that Mars rovers must navigate around and which posed a landing hazard for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. In September 2025, researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California flew research drones over Mars Hill as part of a test campaign to develop navigation software for future Mars rotorcraft. Being able to precisely land between rocks like those seen here is a critical capability to access similar Martian terrain in the future.

2017 Total Solar Eclipse - ISS Transit

The International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, is seen in silhouette as it transits the Sun at roughly five miles per second during a partial solar eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park, Washington. Onboard as part of Expedition 52 are: NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson, Jack Fischer, and Randy Bresnik; Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazanskiy; and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Paolo Nespoli. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

2017 Total Solar Eclipse

This composite image of seven pictures shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse near from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park, Washington on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. The second to the last frame shows the International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, in silhouette as it transits the Sun at roughly five miles per second. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A cave in Glacier Grey in Torres del Paine National Park, seen during NASA's AirSAR 2004 campaign in Chile

A cave in Glacier Grey in Torres del Paine National Park, seen during NASA's AirSAR 2004 campaign in Chile. AirSAR 2004 is a three-week expedition in Central and South America by an international team of scientists that is using an all-weather imaging tool, called the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR), located onboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory. Scientists from many parts of the world are combining ground research with NASA's AirSAR technology to improve and expand on the quality of research they are able to conduct. Founded in 1959, Torres del Paine National Park encompasses 450,000 acres in the Patagonia region of Chile. This region is being studied by NASA using a DC-8 equipped with an Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR) developed by scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This is a very sensitive region that is important to scientists because the temperature has been consistently rising causing a subsequent melting of the region’s glaciers. AirSAR will provide a baseline model and unprecedented mapping of the region. This data will make it possible to determine whether the warming trend is slowing, continuing or accelerating. AirSAR will also provide reliable information on ice shelf thickness to measure the contribution of the glaciers to sea level.

The Cuernos del Paine mountains in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, during NASA's AirSAR 2004 campaign

The Cuernos del Paine mountains in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, during NASA's AirSAR 2004 campaign. AirSAR 2004 is a three-week expedition in Central and South America by an international team of scientists that is using an all-weather imaging tool, called the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR), located onboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory. Scientists from many parts of the world are combining ground research with NASA's AirSAR technology to improve and expand on the quality of research they are able to conduct. Founded in 1959, Torres del Paine National Park encompasses 450,000 acres in the Patagonia region of Chile. This region is being studied by NASA using a DC-8 equipped with an Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR) developed by scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This is a very sensitive region that is important to scientists because the temperature has been consistently rising causing a subsequent melting of the region’s glaciers. AirSAR will provide a baseline model and unprecedented mapping of the region. This data will make it possible to determine whether the warming trend is slowing, continuing or accelerating. AirSAR will also provide reliable information on ice shelf thickness to measure the contribution of the glaciers to sea level.

A fox at Torres del Paine National Park in Chile during NASA's AirSAR 2004 campaign

A fox at Torres del Paine National Park in Chile during NASA's AirSAR 2004 campaign. AirSAR 2004 is a three-week expedition in Central and South America by an international team of scientists that is using an all-weather imaging tool, called the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR), located onboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory. Scientists from many parts of the world are combining ground research with NASA's AirSAR technology to improve and expand on the quality of research they are able to conduct. Founded in 1959, Torres del Paine National Park encompasses 450,000 acres in the Patagonia region of Chile. This region is being studied by NASA using a DC-8 equipped with an Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR) developed by scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This is a very sensitive region that is important to scientists because the temperature has been consistently rising causing a subsequent melting of the region’s glaciers. AirSAR will provide a baseline model and unprecedented mapping of the region. This data will make it possible to determine whether the warming trend is slowing, continuing or accelerating. AirSAR will also provide reliable information on ice shelf thickness to measure the contribution of the glaciers to sea level.

The Cuernos del Paine mountains in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, photographed during NASA's AirSAR 2004 campaign

The Cuernos del Paine mountains in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, photographed during NASA's AirSAR 2004 campaign. AirSAR 2004 is a three-week expedition in Central and South America by an international team of scientists that is using an all-weather imaging tool, called the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR), located onboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory. Scientists from many parts of the world are combining ground research with NASA's AirSAR technology to improve and expand on the quality of research they are able to conduct. Founded in 1959, Torres del Paine National Park encompasses 450,000 acres in the Patagonia region of Chile. This region is being studied by NASA using a DC-8 equipped with an Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR) developed by scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This is a very sensitive region that is important to scientists because the temperature has been consistently rising causing a subsequent melting of the region’s glaciers. AirSAR will provide a baseline model and unprecedented mapping of the region. This data will make it possible to determine whether the warming trend is slowing, continuing or accelerating. AirSAR will also provide reliable information on ice shelf thickness to measure the contribution of the glaciers to sea level.

The Cuernos del Paine mountains in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile provide a backdrop to a herd of guanacos during NASA's AirSAR 2004 campaign

The Cuernos del Paine mountains in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile provide a backdrop to a herd of guanacos during NASA's AirSAR 2004 campaign. AirSAR 2004 is a three-week expedition in Central and South America by an international team of scientists that is using an all-weather imaging tool, called the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR), located onboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory. Scientists from many parts of the world are combining ground research with NASA's AirSAR technology to improve and expand on the quality of research they are able to conduct. Founded in 1959, Torres del Paine National Park encompasses 450,000 acres in the Patagonia region of Chile. This region is being studied by NASA using a DC-8 equipped with an Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR) developed by scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This is a very sensitive region that is important to scientists because the temperature has been consistently rising causing a subsequent melting of the region’s glaciers. AirSAR will provide a baseline model and unprecedented mapping of the region. This data will make it possible to determine whether the warming trend is slowing, continuing or accelerating. AirSAR will also provide reliable information on ice shelf thickness to measure the contribution of the glaciers to sea level.

NASA in the Park on June 16 in Huntsville featured more than 60 exhibits and demonstrations by NASA experts, as well as performances by Marshall musicians, educational opportunities, games and hands-on activities for all ages. National Space Club members help demonstrate propulsion principles at NASA in the Park.

NASA in the Park, 2018

This image acquired by NASA Terra spacecraft is of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Located in Katmai National Park, Alaska, the park is filled with ash flows from the 1912 eruption of Novarupta.

Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Alaska

This radar image shows a close up view of a portion of the Richtersveld National Park and Orange River top of image in the Northern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa.

South Africa, Namibia Diamond Deposits close-up

The Arctic Circle cuts through the western coast of Norway and the Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park. This image was acquired by NASA Terra satellite on August 23, 2006.

Saltfjellet-Svartisen Park, Norway

This radar image covers a portion of the Richtersveld National Park and Orange River top of image in the Northern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa.

South Africa, Namibia Diamond Deposits

The Iveragh Peninsula, one of the four peninsulas in southwestern Ireland, is shown in this spaceborne radar image. The lakes of Killarney National Park are the green patches on the left side of the image.

Space Radar Image of County Kerry, Ireland

These images from NASA Terra satellite images are of northeastern South Africa, near Kruger National Park, were acquired on September 7, 2000.

MISR and AirMISR Simultaneously Observe African Grassland Fires

This image, acquired by NASA Terra spacecraft, shows the Rim Fire in and around Yosemite National Park in California after it was 80 percent contained.

NASA Spacecraft Captures New Image of Third-Largest Wildfire in California History

NASA Terra spacecraft captured this thermal infrared view of the spread of the forest fire in Valle Nuevo National Park near Costanza, Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic Wildfire Imaged by NASA Spacecraft

2017 Total Solar Eclipse

This composite image shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse over Ross Lake, in Northern Cascades National Park, Washington on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts at the National Park Service

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough of NASA, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide speak with Shannon Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Thursday, June 9, 2022, during a visit to the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. Kimbrough, McArthur, Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet completed the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program and spent 198 days aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Elliot Sugar Plantation Ruins

Artifacts retrieved from the ruins of Elliot Plantation on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida include Spanish majolica fragments, likely produced between the 1730s to the 1750s and imported to the plantation from England. Ceramic fragments of majolica, delftware, and other high-status domestic wares were retrieved from ruins determined to be the dwelling of the plantation overseer. The ruins of Elliot Plantation date from the 1760s and represent the largest, earliest, and southernmost British period sugar plantation in the U.S., as well as one of the most intact and best examples of a completely preserved enslaved landscape. In interagency cooperation between the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NASA, and with the assistance of volunteers from the Indian River Anthropological Society, and historic preservation offices of Brevard and Volusia counties, approximately 200 shovel tests and 20 excavation units were completed in three areas of the plantation complex from 2008 to 2009.

Elliot Sugar Plantation Ruins

Archeological ruins of Elliot Plantation are revealed through the oak hammock on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2008. Pictured is a structure composed of coquina blocks from a hearth of a large dwelling, determined to be that of the plantation overseer. The use of coquina is consistent with high-status building materials of the period. The ruins of Elliot Plantation date from the 1760s and represent the largest, earliest, and southernmost British period sugar plantation in the U.S., as well as one of the most intact and best examples of a completely preserved enslaved landscape. In interagency cooperation between the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NASA, and with the assistance of volunteers from the Indian River Anthropological Society, and historic preservation offices of Brevard and Volusia counties, approximately 200 shovel tests and 20 excavation units were completed in three areas of the plantation complex from 2008 to 2009.

Elliot Sugar Plantation Ruins

Archeological ruins of the Elliot Plantation sugar factory are revealed through the oak hammock on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2008. The sugar factory structure, or sugar train, was built from fieldstone and is where sugar cane juice would be boiled during processing in graduated copper kettles until the liquid reduced into a thick syrup. The ruins of Elliot Plantation date from the 1760s and represent the largest, earliest, and southernmost British period sugar plantation in the U.S., as well as one of the most intact and best examples of a completely preserved enslaved landscape. In interagency cooperation between the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NASA, and with the assistance of volunteers from the Indian River Anthropological Society, and historic preservation offices of Brevard and Volusia counties, approximately 200 shovel tests and 20 excavation units were completed in three areas of the plantation complex from 2008 to 2009.

Elliot Sugar Plantation Ruins

Preservationist Dot Moore views the ruins of Elliot Plantation sugar factory during an excavation in 2008 on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The sugar factory structure, or sugar train, was built from fieldstone and is where sugar cane juice would be boiled during processing in graduated copper kettles until the liquid reduced into a thick syrup. The ruins of Elliot Plantation date from the 1760s and represent the largest, earliest, and southernmost British period sugar plantation in the U.S., as well as one of the most intact and best examples of a completely preserved enslaved landscape. In interagency cooperation between the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NASA, and with the assistance of volunteers from the Indian River Anthropological Society, and historic preservation offices of Brevard and Volusia counties, approximately 200 shovel tests and 20 excavation units were completed in three areas of the plantation complex from 2008 to 2009.

More than 2 million acres were consumed by hundreds of fires between December 2002 and February 2003 in southeastern Australia national parks, forests, foothills and city suburbs as seen by NASA Terra spacecraft.

Drought and Burn Scars in Southeastern Australia

The effects of California severe multiyear drought are seen in this pair of images acquired by NASA Terra spacecraft of the area northeast of Madera, in the Sierra Nevada Moutains foothills between Yosemite National Park and the San Joaquin Valley

Images Show Severity of California Drought

The plume of carbon monoxide pollution from the Rim Fire burning in and near Yosemite National Park, Calif., shows a three-day running average of daily measurements from NASA Aqua spacecraft.

NASA Aqua Spacecraft Images Pollution from California Rim Fire

Mt. Dana and Dana Plateau in the Tuolumne River Basin within Yosemite National Park, Calif., as seen out the window of a Twin Otter aircraft carrying NASA Airborne Snow Observatory on April 3, 2013.

Tuolumne River Basin seen by NASA Airborne Snow Observatory

Arguably one of America most magnificent national parks is the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. NASA Terra spacecraft captured this image looking to the northeast, the buildings and roads in the center foreground are Grand Canyon Village.

NASA Satellite Reveals Grandeur of Arizona Grand Canyon

Geyser Valley on the Kamchatka Peninsula

This space radar image shows the rugged topography of Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura, Calif.

Space Radar Image of Santa Cruz Island, California

NASA Terra spacecraft provided this view of the eastern part of Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona in this image on July 14, 2011. This view looks to the west, with tourist facilities of Grand Canyon Village visible in the upper left.

A Spacebird-eye View of the Grand Canyon from NASA Terra Spacecraft

Elliot Sugar Plantation Ruins

Artifacts retrieved from the ruins of Elliot Plantation on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida show high-status fine dining wares imported from 18th century England. The white salt-glazed stoneware and creamware dining wares were found scattered near a large structure, determined by archeologists to be the dwelling of the plantation overseer. The dining wares have known dates of time for manufacturing and use during the 1760s through the 1770s and helped archeologists confirm the site was from the same period. The ruins of Elliot Plantation date from the 1760s and represent the largest, earliest, and southernmost British period sugar plantation in the U.S., as well as one of the most intact and best examples of a completely preserved enslaved landscape. In interagency cooperation between the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NASA, and with the assistance of volunteers from the Indian River Anthropological Society, and historic preservation offices of Brevard and Volusia counties, approximately 200 shovel tests and 20 excavation units were completed in three areas of the plantation complex from 2008 to 2009.

Elliot Sugar Plantation Ruins

Archeological ruins of Elliot Plantation are revealed through the oak hammock on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2009. Pictured is a structure composed of coquina blocks from a hearth of a large dwelling, determined to be that of the plantation overseer. The use of coquina is consistent with high-status building materials of the period. Mapped in this photo are the remnants of a chimney collapse from a detached kitchen in the overseer’s house. An enormous scatter of architectural debris, including coquina, fieldstone, brick and mortar, as well as substantial food remains, broken dishes, bottle glass, and other kitchen wares, were recovered and documented during investigations of the ruins. The ruins of Elliot Plantation date from the 1760s and represent the largest, earliest, and southernmost British period sugar plantation in the U.S., as well as one of the most intact and best examples of a completely preserved enslaved landscape. In interagency cooperation between the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NASA, and with the assistance of volunteers from the Indian River Anthropological Society, and historic preservation offices of Brevard and Volusia counties, approximately 200 shovel tests and 20 excavation units were completed in three areas of the plantation complex from 2008 to 2009.

Perseverance's Quadrant Themes

This map shows various quadrant themes in the vicinity of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover, which is currently in the Rocky Mountain quadrant within the much broader Jezero Crater. Each quadrant is 0.7 miles (1.2 kilometers) on each side. The Perseverance team chose quadrant themes related to various national parks across Earth, from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Jotunheimen National Park in Norway. The themes help organize the unofficial nicknames that are given by rover team members to different surface features they want to study, such as hills, craters, boulders, and even specific rock surfaces. The first sedimentary rock core sample the rover took was from a rock nicknamed "Skinner Ridge" for a ridge in Shenandoah National Park when Perseverance was in that quadrant. Many hundreds of names are compiled into a list based on each theme and are applied as the rover explores that quadrant. Rovers can sometimes end up exploring a quadrant for months, exhausting the list of names and prompting a new list to be drawn up. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25913

2017 Total Solar Eclipse - ISS Transit

This composite image, made from 4 frames, shows the International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, as it transits the Sun at roughly five miles per second during a partial solar eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 from , Northern Cascades National Park in Washington. Onboard as part of Expedition 52 are: NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson, Jack Fischer, and Randy Bresnik; Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazanskiy; and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Paolo Nespoli. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Space Radar Image of Yellowstone Park, Wyoming

These two radar images show the majestic Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, the oldest national park in the United States and home to the world's most spectacular geysers and hot springs. The region supports large populations of grizzly bears, elk and bison. In 1988, the park was burned by one of the most widespread fires to occur in the northern Rocky Mountains in the last 50 years. Surveys indicated that 793,880 acres of land burned. Of that, 41 percent was burned forest, with tree canopies totally consumed by the fire; 35 percent was a combination of unburned, scorched and blackened trees; 13 percent was surface burn under an unburned canopy; 6 percent was non-forest burn; and 5 percent was undifferentiated burn. Six years later, the burned areas are still clearly visible in these false-color radar images obtained by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar on board the space shuttle Endeavour. The image at the left was obtained using the L-band radar channel, horizontally received and vertically transmitted, on the shuttle's 39th orbit on October 2, 1994. The area shown is 45 kilometers by 71 kilometers (28 miles by 44 miles) in size and centered at 44.6 degrees north latitude, 110.7 degrees west longitude. North is toward the top of the image (to the right). Most trees in this area are lodge pole pines at different stages of fire succession. Yellowstone Lake appears as a large dark feature at the bottom of the scene. At right is a map of the forest crown, showing its biomass, or amount of vegetation, which includes foliage and branches. The map was created by inverting SIR-C data and using in situ estimates of crown biomass gathered by the Yellowstone National Biological Survey. The map is displayed on a color scale from blue (rivers and lakes with no biomass) to brown (non-forest areas with crown biomass of less than 4 tons per hectare) to light brown (areas of canopy burn with biomass of between 4 and 12 tons per hectare). Yellow indicates areas of canopy burn and mixed burn with a biomass of between 12 to 20 tons per hectare; light green is mixed burn and on-burn forest with a biomass of 20 to 35 tons per hectare; and green is non-burned forest with a biomass of greater than 35 tons per hectare. Forest recovery from the fire seems to depend on fire intensity and soil conditions. In areas of severe canopy burn and poor soil conditions, crown biomass was still low in 1994 (indicated by the brown areas at the center left), whereas in areas of mixed burn with nutrient-rich soils, seen west of Yellowstone Lake, crown biomass has increased significantly in six years (indicated by the yellow and light green areas). Imaging fire-affected regions with spaceborne radar illustrates SIR-C/X-SAR's keen abilities to monitor regrowth after a fire. Knowing the amount of carbon accumulated in the atmosphere by regenerating forest in the 20 to 50 years following a fire disturbance is also a significant factor in understanding the global carbon cycle. Measuring crown biomass is necessary to evaluate the effects of past and future fires in specific regions. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01741

iss063e084654 (Sept. 4, 2020) --- Inagua National Park, part of The Bahamas island nation, is pictured from the International Space Station as it was orbiting above the Atlantic Ocean.

Earth Observations

Yellowstone Park

Thirteen years after devastating forest fires burned over 1.6 million acres in Yellowstone National Park, the scars are still evident. In this simulated natural color ASTER image, burned areas appear gray, in contrast to the dark green of unburned forests. The image covers an area of 60 x 63 km. This image was acquired on July 2, 2001 by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03875

Tall Mountain: Enhanced View

Among the highest features seen on Ceres so far is a mountain about 4 miles (6 kilometers) high, which is roughly the elevation of Mount McKinley in Alaska's Denali National Park. This image comes from an animation, shown in PIA19619, generated using data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft. Vertical relief has been exaggerated by a factor of five. Exaggerating the relief helps scientists understand and visualize the topography much more easily, and highlights features that are sometimes subtle. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19618