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>>Space Station Provides New 'Window' for International Polar Year
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Space Station Provides New 'Window' for International Polar Year
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05.11.07
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 It's happened only three other times in history. But this time, the
International Polar Year will have unprecedented access to an out-of-this-world platform -- 210
miles up in space.
The International Polar Year is a collaborative effort to study the Arctic and the Antarctic from
March 2007 to March 2009. Crew members on the International Space Station are supporting the
scientific program by taking new snapshots of Earth's polar regions -- the areas of the globe
surrounding the North and South poles -- from the unique vantage point of space.
Image above, right: This image taken aboard the International Space Station shows melt water pooled
on the surface of iceberg A-39D. When the image was taken in 2004, the iceberg was drifting near
South Georgia Island. Credit: NASA
It's been 50 years since the last event like this, with previous polar years observed in 1882 and
1932. This year will have the largest number of participants, with thousands of scientists from
more than 60 countries examining the polar regions in a wide range of topics, including surface and
atmospheric temperatures, changes in snow and ice and the shrinkage of glaciers. They also hope to
dip into unexplored areas.
Because the International Space Station provides a unique venue for observing polar phenomena, NASA
has invited scientists participating in the polar program to submit requests for relevant imagery
to be photographed from space.
 Image at right: Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMC) are seen over Alaska and northwestern
Canada. PMC occur at high altitudes and generally high latitudes, and are best observed right after
sunset. Observations suggest that the frequency of PMCs is increasing, possibly related to global
climate change. Credit: NASA
As part of the Crew Earth Observations experiment, space station astronauts photograph designated
sites and dynamic events on the Earth’s surface using digital cameras equipped with a variety of
lenses. Depending on the station's position and weather in the target regions, astronauts can
collect high-resolution digital photos of a specific location or lower-resolution photos that cover
very large areas.
During the timeframe of the International Polar Year, polar observations are a scientific focus for
the Crew Earth Observations experiment; the experiment is designated CEO-IPY.
Previous space station crew members have photographed such phenomena as auroras, polar mesospheric
clouds and patterns and calving of sea ice. Although the station does not cross the poles,
astronauts can look toward the poles to document these phenomena.
"Polar regions are rich in phenomena obtuse to our daily temperate-region lives and naturally draw
one's scientific attention, whether on or off of Earth," said NASA astronaut Don Pettit, the leader
of the effort to link polar scientists with the space station. "I want IPY scientists on Earth to
have access to the space station perspective, where observations can be made on the length scale of
half a continent and will complement observations made on Earth or by higher orbiting
satellites."
 Image at right: This International Space Station image shows an aurora over the
southern polar region at sunset. Credit: NASA
The Crew Earth Observations imagery Web site for CEO-IPY, http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ipy/
provides an online form that allows polar region investigators to interact with Earth observation
scientists and define and submit their imagery requests.
"This information is integrated into daily communications with the station astronauts about their
photo targets, so that crew members know what kind of photos would help the scientists, and when
those areas will be visible through the windows of the station," said Cindy Evans, a NASA scientist
who has been developing the online scientific resources.
All photos collected are posted on the Web for downloading and then adapted into polar year
projects. Examples of imagery and detailed information about scientific observations from the space
station also can be downloaded from the CEO-IPY Web site.
Contact:
Steve Roy
Marshall Space Flight Center
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