Return to Earth From Space Home
Earth from Space logo Image Information Earth from Space logo

Display a Screen Layout for Printing

IMAGE: gray corner       IMAGE: gray corner
  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS062-E-136862 Date: Apr. 2020
Geographic Region: AUSTRALIA-Q
Feature: COOPER CREEK, WINDORAH AIRPORT, WINDORAH

Ordering information for space photography
 
IMAGE: gray corner     IMAGE: gray corner

Image: gray corner     Image: gray corner
  View Low-Resolution Image  
  Cooper Creek, Australia

Red-tinted sands and dark green braided streams provide a colorful contrast within Australia's Channel Country. As the International Space Station (ISS) was passing over southwest Queensland, an astronaut took this photo of the Cooper Creek floodplain.

The Barcoo and Thomson rivers flow southwest and converge north of the town of Windorah to form Cooper Creek (//www.bom.gov.au/qld/flood/brochures/cooper/cooper.shtml), a major river system that flows toward Lake Yamma Yamma and Lake Eyre (both outside this frame). The broad, gently sloping floodplain - more than 50 kilometers (30 miles) wide in some areas - allows for the development of a complex network of shallow channels carved by seasonal floods. The region provides significant habitat for water birds and has been classified by the Australian government as an Important Bird Area.

Ancient linear dunes, trending in an east-west direction, rise above the floodplain. Their Mars-like red color comes from traces of iron that coat larger quartz grains. Known as paleodunes, these features point to a drier past climate during their formation and migration. As the climate in this region has become slightly wetter (but still arid), vegetation density has increased, reducing the impact of wind and water on the dunes and halting most of their migration. There is some reshaping of sediment at the top of the dunes due to winds.

The combination of stable, ancient dunes and water channels displaying both braided and cross-connecting patterns make this region a planetary analogue for Mars. Studying the physical features of an arid land, whether from orbit or ground level, can prepare humans for exploration of worlds beyond our own.

 
Image: gray corner     Image: gray corner

Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 540k
Mission: ISS062  
Roll - Frame: E - 136862
Geographical Name: AUSTRALIA-Q  
Features: COOPER CREEK, WINDORAH AIRPORT, WINDORAH  
Center Lat x Lon: 25.4S x 142.8E
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: N8
 
Camera Tilt: 26   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 116  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: NE   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:  
 
Date: 20200405   YYYYMMDD
Time: 230518   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 26.7S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 141.5E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 65   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 230   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 29   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: BASIN  
Water Views: CHANNEL, LAKE, RIVER, SEDIMENT  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


NASA
Home Page
JSC
Home Page
JSC Digital
Image Collection
Earth Science &
Remote Sensing

NASA meatball logo
This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit, ARES Division, Exploration Integration Science Directorate.
ESRS logo