Earth observations during STS-89 mission

STS089-703-007 (22-32 Jan. 1998) --- This picture of southern Australia was photographed with a 70mm handheld camera from the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Endeavour. The Nullarbor Plain (behind the boom of Russia’s Mir Space Station) has been one of the least photographed features of the continents. The coastal escarpment rises abruptly to 500 feet above sea level. The limestone bedrock has been dissolved away along fractures and joints. In this photo of the western Australian Bight, solution grooves can be seen to have localized sand deposits in long bands. Both inland and along the coast, rounded sinkholes and depressions attest to solution of the surficial limestone’s; "karst" is the term for this kind of terrain. Caves such as Cocklebiddy and Weebubbie are common along the coast and linear passages, formed by dissolution of joints, commonly connect rooms. Photo credit: NASA