The Many Faces of Mount Everest

Space is a good place to ponder the world's extremes and nature's variability. For example, photographing the highest point on the planet is a favorite target (and a long-standing challenge) for astronauts orbiting the Earth. Despite Everest's planetary stature, it is not an easy peak to locate while zipping over the mountains at 7 kilometers per second.

Over the years, astronauts have used various viewing angles and lenses to capture the many faces of Everest. Differing seasons and illumination allow for very different, but always spectacular perspectives. The current astronauts on the International Space Station obtained this view of Mt. Everest in late November 2003.

Astronaut photograph ISS008-E-6150 was taken from the International Space Station on November 26, 2003, with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with an 400mm lens. Image is provided by the Earth Observations Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.