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NASA News
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration

John C. Stennis Space Center
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000      KSB-03-050
(228) 688-3341         May 15, 2003

Lanee Cooksey     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NASA News Chief
(228) 688-3341

NASA'S STENNIS SPACE CENTER DONATES CAMILLE IMAGES TO MARITIME AND
SEAFOOD INDUSTRY MUSEUM

HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. - NASA's Stennis Space Center has donated five
rare aerial images, taken in August 1969, just days after Hurricane
Camille struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast, to the Maritime and
Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi. The images are now on display in
the museum's Wade Guice Hurricane Museum, which chronicles the
history of storms along the Mississippi coast.

The Hurricane Camille aerial views of the storm's destruction had
been on display in StenniSphere, the visitor center at Stennis, since
Aug. 17, 2002 (the 33rd anniversary of Hurricane  Camille).

"The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum is very excited about the
donation of the Hurricane Camille pictures from Stennis," said Robin
David, director of the museum.

The photographs are computer-enhanced, 40" x 60" digital images
produced from 9-inch film  discovered by Daniel Lee, president of
GeoTek Management Services Company at Stennis.

"These images offer a unique view, because most of the photos of
Camille's devastation were taken from ground level. These aerial
images provide a bird's-eye view," said Lee. "From a scientific and
technical standpoint, what's critical is that the photos allow
viewers to quantify the damage along the coastline that cannot be
seen from one small snapshot." 

The images' aerial perspective allows residents who lived on the
Mississippi Gulf Coast when Camille hit to identify their
neighborhoods and even pinpoint their houses. It also allows civil
defense personnel to take a much more proactive approach to disaster
preparation, which is one of the areas of focus for NASA's Earth
Science Applications (ESA) Directorate at Stennis. 

"NASA's orbiting sensors developed over the last 30 years provide
increasingly accurate data on hurricane formation and forecasts,"
said NASA's Marco Giardino, an applications development specialist
with ESA at Stennis. "Hurricanes form over tropical waters, typically
when sea surface temperatures warm to about 80øF or greater, a
phenomenon that can be accurately measured from space today. The
newest NASA sensors like MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer) collect data that builds advanced models of
hurricane structure and offer the hope that by improving our
understanding of these enormous storms we can better predict their
power and manage their impact."

The photographs include the areas of Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach and
Pass Christian.  For more information about Stennis Space Center,
call (228) 688-2370 or 1-800-237-1821 (Option 1 in Mississippi and
Louisiana). 

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