Patterns in Crew-Initiated Photography of Earth from the ISS—
Is Earth Observation a Salutogenic Experience?and educational and government users. To date, Shuttle crewmembers have cap-
tured over 287,000 images of Earth.
From March 1996 through June 1998, the scientists of SSEOP supported
Earth photography by crewmembers spending longer durations in space as part
of the NASA-Mir program. U.S. investigators collaborated with the Institute of
Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, in developing Earth observation objec-
tives for astronauts on board Mir.^8 The documentation of dynamic environmental
changes on Earth’s surface was a primary objective for both SSEOP and the Russian
Institute of Geography. Another objective was to develop scientific approaches and
procedures that could later be applied to the same kinds of dynamic observations
from the ISS. With the advent of Shuttle-Mir and the ISS, the focus of SSEOP
changed from short-term observation to long-term observation.
The cameras used on Shuttle-Mir were the same as on the Shuttle, with the
70-millimeter Hasselblad (film) as the main camera, but the Nikon F3 35-millimeter
camera was also available. A joint list of sites was chosen by U.S. and Russian sci-
entists for Shuttle-Mir. Earth observation target sites were sent to the Shuttle-Mir
crews weekly. Training was modified from the typical Shuttle briefings to enable the
Shuttle-Mir crews to document unanticipated dynamic events as well as targets of
opportunity that would be encountered more often on long-term missions. Another
benefit of long-term Earth observing missions was the ability to document seasonal
change and long-term climatic effects. Approximately 22,500 photographs were
taken during the seven Shuttle-Mir missions.
Crew Earth Observations began as a formal ISS research activity (“payload”)
on the first mission, Expedition 1, in October 2000. Training for ISS crews evolved
from experiences gained in the Shuttle and Shuttle-Mir programs. Rather than
discipline-specific training, ISS crews were trained on science topics such as coral
reefs, global urban systems, deltas, and glaciers. The emphasis was more on observ-
ing Earth as a system than on documenting independent events. An overall science
plan tied together the target sites and crew training and is still used and updated
by increment for ISS crews today. Due to the extensive training ISS astronauts
receive regarding all aspects of their missions, CEO training is limited to 4 hours.
Typically this training occurs during the early part of the training cycle. Since an
- Lulla, Dessinov, Evans, Dickerson, and Robinson, Dynamic Earth Environments.