The earliest trace of alphabetic writing was found at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt at a temple to the Goddess Hathor. Since 2800 BCE, turquoise was mined here, mainly by the ancient Egyptians. Four thousand year old inscriptions are in the Proto-Sinaitic script, the ancestor to the Greek alphabet, and our modern alphabets. (Smithsonian magazine, January-February 2021) The image was acquired November 7, 2015, covers an area of 23.3 by 28.2 km, and is located at 29 degrees north, 33.4 degrees east.

With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region and its high spatial resolution of about 50 to 300 feet (15 to 90 meters), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched Dec. 18, 1999, on Terra. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and data products.

The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are monitoring glacial advances and retreats; monitoring potentially active volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining cloud morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping of soils and geology; and measuring surface heat balance.

The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

More information about ASTER is available at http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/.