California stars in new space pics, video

San Gabriel Mountains loom over greater Los Angeles.

By Kate Tobin
CNN Sci-Tech

(CNN) -- NASA released finely detailed, three-dimensional images and animations of California this week, using data collected by the space shuttle that will help create unrivaled maps of much of the world.

A simulated flyover of the state looks like something a computer artist might dream up -- an aerial tour that swoops over the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay, the San Joaquin Valley, Mount Shasta and the Salton Sea.

But the animation is no artist's rendering. It is a computer-generated digital map created with measurements gathered during the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) almost two years ago.

The goal of the SRTM is to map 80 percent of the Earth's landmass in unprecedented detail. Although most of the United States has already been digitally mapped using data from airplanes and satellites, the same cannot be said for other parts of the world.

VIDEO NASA 3-D animation of a California flyover Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   GALLERY CALIFORNIA See all the pictures . Some can be viewed with 3-D glasses.

For some areas, the new maps will be 30 times more precise than any previous maps, according to NASA scientists.

The U.S. government postponed the release of some maps generated during the SRTM mission in the wake of the September 11 terrorist bombings, citing national security concerns. The ban was lifted in early December.

NASA now plans to release maps as scientists process and complete them, beginning with maps of the United States. The agency hopes to finish the project and release all maps by spring.

"The maps produced from the mission will be among the most valuable, universally beneficial data ever produced by a science mission," said mission project manager Yunjin Kim of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"National and local government organizations, scientists, commercial enterprises and civilians alike will find the data useful for applications as diverse as earthquake studies, flood control, transportation and urban planning, enhanced ground-collision warning systems for aircraft and better placement of cell phone towers."

Santa Barbara skirts the Pacific Ocean.

The space shuttle Endeavour conducted the SRTM flight in February 2000. Using equipment mounted on a 200-foot mast extending out from the shuttle's payload bay, astronauts pointed specialized radar equipment toward Earth, generating highly accurate elevation measurements of the ground below. The data was collected over 10 days and 159 orbits.

NASA scientists are using computers to turn that elevation data into topographical maps. Different colors on the map indicate elevation variations, blue and green for lower elevations, yellow and brown for higher elevations, with white at the highest points.

The animated flyover of California is accurate to within 295 feet, although the mission scientists are producing more precise maps using the SRTM data.

SRTM is a joint project of NASA, the Defense Department's National Imagery and Mapping Agency and the German and Italian space agencies.