NASA, Japan map most of planet
CNN's goinggreen blog has an entry today on the new digital topographical map created by NASA and Japan. It's the most complete map to date.
The map was built from 1.3 million images taken by NASA's Terra satellite. CNN says the images were taken by a Japanese imaging instrument called the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER.
The map covers 99 percent of the planet's land mass, adding steep terrains and deserts not on other maps. See some more ASTER pics here.
ASTER imagry of the globe courtesy of NASA
