| ITEM (1): NASA Drops in on
The Super Bowl - On February 3rd, Superbowl Sunday, all eyes
will turn to a city in Louisiana famous for its own way of doing
things: New Orleans. And on a day traditionally filled with
superlatives and hyperbole, NASA will release an image worthy of the
name "super." Using powerful instruments flying onboard three
different Earth observing satellites, the space agency has prepared a
seamless plunge from orbit into the Louisiana Superdome. This is a
view of the fifty-yard line that even the most die-hard fan has never
seen.
For the ninth Superbowl in New Orleans's history--a record for any
city--more than 72,000 fans will pack into the stands of the
Superdome, while millions more watch the televised game around the
world.
But since a ticket to the Big Easy--let alone the game
itself-- is beyond the grasp of most, NASA has obliged the nation
with a view of the field that's worthy of the big game's "super"
moniker.
You might even call it a "SuperZoom."
By carefully fusing image data from NASA's Terra and Landsat
spacecraft, as well as the commercial Ikonos satellite belonging to
Space Imaging, the space agency brings you this remarkable view of
the ground as captured from space. The scene is also something of a
celebration for the space agency; 2002 marks the thirtieth
anniversary of the highly successful Landsat program.
The development of this zoom has roots in important
scientific research. The techniques necessary to manipulate this
kind of image data about the Earth has provided critical tools for
scientists to study important aspects of planetary change over time,
land use issues, and the management of natural resources. Further,
the computer science expertise necessary to assemble the scene
demands world-class custom software, powerful hardware, and a lot of
know-how.
Landsat, Terra, and the computing staff who made this kickoff
to the SuperBowl possible receive support from the Earth Science
Enterprise, NASA's branch committed to ongoing research about the
only planet in the solar system that we call home.
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