Quick Photo Insights
The vast Libyan Desert stretches toward the Mediterranean Sea, which fades into the horizon in this photograph taken by an External High-Definition Camera (EHDC) on the International Space Station (ISS). The burnt reds and oranges of the desert and the dark-toned mountains and plateaus contrast sharply with the bright blues of the sea and horizon, all set against the deep black of space.
From this vantage point, Earth looks almost otherworldly, reminiscent of Mars or desert planets from science fiction. The Libyan Desert, part of the larger Sahara Desert, is often cited as a Mars analogue due to its similar features. It is the most arid part of the Sahara and largely uninhabited, with a landscape of windswept dunes and darker sandstone plateaus in the Fezzan region of Libya.
The EHDC is one of the ground-controlled cameras used to monitor mission status on the ISS. When Earth-facing, it contributes to the many Earth-observing experiments conducted from the space station.
This photograph, taken during Expedition 64, shows a highly oblique view that is unusual for most remote sensing platforms but favoured in astronaut photography. The image has been cropped and enhanced for contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed.
The ISS Program supports such photography to provide valuable images for scientists and the public, making them freely available online. Additional images can be viewed at NASA's Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth linked below in 'Collections'.