Astronaut Leroy Chiao's Space Blog-Argentina: We were flying over Argentina and I was waiting to take pictures of a particular river that had been requested by the ground. I suddenly spotted this odd series of lakes. The sunlight was just right to create this interesting color and effect. This is my favorite one, I've nicknamed it "Gecko Lake."

We were flying over Argentina and I was waiting to take pictures of a particular river that had been requested by the ground. I suddenly spotted this odd series of lakes. The sunlight was just right to create this interesting color and effect. This is my favorite one, I've nicknamed it "Gecko Lake."

Nepal/China Border Region Chi Lien Mountains South Africa Salamat Basin in Chad Mozambique Corrientes, Argentina Dec. 10, 2004 Blog Malaysia Patagonian Glaciers Bolivia

Click here for AsianConnections' exclusive interview with Leroy while in training at Star City, Russia.

Astronaut Leroy Chiao's Space Blog-China Launch Complex

Here is a shot of the Chinese Launch Complex near Jiuquan. The complex is located north of Ching Hai Hu, behind the Chi Lien Mountains.

Argentina Nepal/China Border Region Chi Lien Mountains South Africa Salamat Basin in Chad Mozambique Corrientes, Argentina Dec. 10, 2004 Blog Malaysia Patagonian Glaciers Bolivia

Click here for AsianConnections' exclusive interview with Leroy while in training at Star City, Russia.

Astronaut Leroy Chiao's Space Blog-China: This shot of the Yellow River is the Eastern part of the river in North Eastern part of China that runs North-South. The texture of the surrounding hilly area creates a nice effect. The air was very clear there. Only a little more to the East, it was very smoggy.

This shot of the Yellow River is the Eastern part of the river in North Eastern part of China that runs North-South. The texture of the surrounding hilly area creates a nice effect. The air was very clear there. Only a little more to the East, it was very smoggy.

Argentina Nepal/China Border Region Chi Lien Mountains South Africa Salamat Basin in Chad Mozambique Corrientes, Argentina Dec. 10, 2004 Blog Malaysia Patagonian Glaciers Bolivia

Click here for AsianConnections' exclusive interview with Leroy while in training at Star City, Russia.

Astronaut Leroy Chiao's Space Blog-Egypt: As we were flying over Egypt, I saw that we were in a good alignment with the sun to capture sunglint photos. This technique is very useful for highlighting areas on land with standing water and for observing wave patterns that propagate below the surface of open water (called internal waves). In this case, the sunglint provided a very beautiful portrait. The lake appears as if filled with mercury.

As we were flying over Egypt, I saw that we were in a good alignment with the sun to capture sunglint photos. This technique is very useful for highlighting areas on land with standing water and for observing wave patterns that propagate below the surface of open water (called internal waves). In this case, the sunglint provided a very beautiful portrait. The lake appears as if filled with mercury.

China Launch Complex Argentina Nepal/China Border Region Chi Lien Mountains South Africa Salamat Basin in Chad Mozambique Corrientes, Argentina Dec. 10, 2004 Blog Malaysia Patagonian Glaciers Bolivia

Click here for AsianConnections' exclusive interview with Leroy while in training at Star City, Russia.