Earth Observation

ISS040-E-005839 (28 May 2014) --- The Brasilia World Cup Stadium (top center) is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 40 crew member on the International Space Station on May 28, 2014. Brazil?s national football stadium, the Estado Nacional, lies near the heart of the capital city of Brasilia. The new roof appears as a brilliant white ring in this image. The stadium is one of Brasilia?s largest buildings. Renovation began in 2010 and it is now the second most expensive stadium in the world, after Wembley Stadium in London, UK. To accommodate expected World Cup fans from all over the world, renovations for all modes of transportation, particularly airports, have been put in place in Brasilia and other host cities. Brasilia?s international airport can be seen lower left on the far side of Lake Paranoa. Brasilia is widely known for its modern building designs and city layout. Space station crew members have the best view of the city?s well-known ?swept wing? city layout ? giving the sense of a flying bird ? expressed in the curves of the boulevards (top). The stadium occupies the city center between the wings. The President Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge crosses the lake at bottom right. Its 1200-meter span gives scale to the city and stadium.