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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: STS068-163-123 Date: Oct. 1994
Geographic Region: KAZAKHSTAN
Feature: ARAL SEA, BAYS, SALT PANS

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  STS068-163-123 Priaralsk Desert, Northern Aral Sea, Kazakhstan October 1994
The waters of the Northern Aral Sea, which lie at the south end of the sandy Priaralsk Desert, are visible in this southwest-looking view. The Kazakhstan city of Aralsk, though not readily discernible, is situated midway between the left center and center of the image in what was over 35 years ago, the northern edge of the Aral Sea. Since the early 1960's, the Aral Sea has lost over 60 percent of its volume. The city of Aralsk used to be a fishing port on the Aral Sea, and supported a large fish processing industry. The shores of the shrinking Aral Sea by the 1980's were nearly 80 miles (129 km) south from the city. In the early 1990's, a dam was built just to the south of the mouth of the Syr Darya, which will protect the northern part of the Aral Sea, letting the southern portion of the Aral Sea evaporate. Sea level in the northern part, due to the dam, has risen 9 feet (3 meters) since the construction of the dam, and waters have crept to within 10 miles (16 km) of the city of Aralsk. Although only 10 percent of the water from the Syr Darya reaches the Aral Sea, this water from the river will help the evaporation rate to slow greatly and for the northern part of the Aral Sea to expand. Future Space Shuttle Flights and future crews aboard the International Space Station will continue to monitor this ever-changing environmental area.
 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 278k
Mission: STS068  
Roll - Frame: 163 - 123
Geographical Name: KAZAKHSTAN  
Features: ARAL SEA, BAYS, SALT PANS  
Center Lat x Lon: 47.0N x 61.5E
Film Exposure: N   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 0
 
Camera: LH
 
Camera Tilt: LO   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 250  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: SW   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?: Y   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number: 111  
 
Date: 19941007   YYYYMMDD
Time: 062915   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 49.1N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 64.1E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 161   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 115   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 34   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: DESERT  
Water Views: LAKE  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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