A Chinese scientist has joined the US space shuttle Endeavor's programme to create the first radar-based, three-dimensional image of the earth's surface from space, state media said Wednesday.
Guo Huadong was chosen to join 42 other scientists with the shuttle radar topographic mapping program and is the only representative on the team from China and the Asia-Pacific region, China's official Xinhua news agency said.
The shuttle's 11-day flight which began on February 11 is expected to cover at least 80 percent of the earth's land mass where more than 90 percent of the world's population lives.
The mapping will cover 100 percent of China's territory, Xinhua added.
A total of 250 people applied to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to join the programme, which were whittled down by a team of US experts.
Guo is based with the Institute of Remote Sensing Application within the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
His proposed program dealt with the programme's application for the topographical mapping of China and monitoring changes in the earth's surface, Xinhua said.
Guo was a member of Endeavor's radar science workshop held between 1991 and 1996.
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