Remote Sensing - Dune Worlds: How Windblown Sand Shapes Planetary Landscapes - page 207

Fig. 18.1 A view of the
somewhat crescentic star dunes
in the Badain Jaran desert in
China, seen through a rather
murky airplane window (but
contrast-stretched after the fact to
compensate). These dunes are
seen from space in Fig. 7.15 , and
in the field in Fig. 11.8 . Note the
dark triangular lake to the left of
the dune in the center. Photo R.
Lorenz

Fig. 18.2 An aerial view, taken
in 1953, of rather sensuous
shadows on barchanoid dunes in
the Ubari sand sea in Libya.
While we may hope to see aerial
photos from Mars or Titan, it
may be a long time before we see
aerial photographs showing other
aircraft! Photo US Geological
Survey

would be possible from altitudes of hundreds of km (e.g.,
Lowman 1964) but, ironically, rarely showed the White
Sands dunes near where the rockets were launched from.
Within 5 years of Sputnik, Corona spy satellites were
returning capsules of film from orbit, and Luna 3 had

18.2 Orbital Imaging

Imaging of planetary surfaces began soon after the dawn of
the space age: experimental cameras on captured V-2
rockets showed the wide views of terrain and weather that