The Earth horizon over China; Yangtze River, Shanghai

Space Mission
Gemini V, August 21-29, 1965, orbit 23, 035:58:00 GET

Photographer
NASA

Photo Description
Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA S-65-45768” (NASA MSC) in red in top margin.

Essay
Pete Conrad captured this rare view over “the mouth of the silt-laden Yangtze River on the coast of mainland China (left), with Shanghai in the lower center of the picture. The river flow pattern and disposition rate seen here can be traced for over 75 miles as the river effluent mixes with the China Sea”.

“We got some pretty good shots of the Yangtze River dumping tons of mud in the Pacific Ocean. That was back in the days when people didn’t realize the extent of what happened to silt when it came down those rivers. It also helped oceanographers get a little better idea of the currents, before they had sensors to pick up that kind of information,” said Pete Conrad