| Kippreport.com

A view of the world

June 30, 2009 2:26 by Aarti Nagraj

The US space agency NASA and the Japanese trade ministry collaborated to create the most complete terrain map of the earth’s surface, called the Global Digital Elevation Map, reports the BBC.

The data has 1.3 million images, and the map covers 99 percent of the earth’s surface. It will be free to download and use once it is ready.

“This is the most complete, consistent global digital elevation data yet made available to the world,” said Woody Turner, a NASA program scientist on the mission. “This unique global set of data will serve users and researchers from a wide array of disciplines that need elevation and terrain information.”

So now that almost every part of the earth’s terrain can be seen, will authorities finally be able to nab Osama Bin Laden?

Tags: earth map, Nasa, osama bin Laden