Photo of Lake Van Wins First Prize in NASA Competition

Van Lake photograph taken from space wins NASA's online photo competition, selected as the top winner among two finalist images. In the online photo competition called "Tournament Earth" organized by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the photograph of Van Lake taken by Astronaut Kate Rubins won first place by receiving the most votes. [caption id="attachment_124432" align="aligncenter"] (Photo: AA)[/caption]   The Van Lake photograph taken by Rubins on 12 September 2016 and the frame showing moving stars over the Americas taken by Astronaut Don Pettit in 2012 had made it to the finals among 32 photographs. The competition among 32 frames, all taken by astronauts, which went live on 8 March, concluded today at 12.00 US local time through voting conducted on the website "earthobservatory.nasa.gov/tournament-earth". On the NASA Earth website, where the Van Lake photograph was announced as the winner today, it was stated that "This photograph of the soda lake received 94 percent of votes in the quarterfinals and is prepared to do the same in the final." More than 930,000 votes were cast for the 32 photographs that participated in the competition.

The competition was followed with interest from Turkey as well

Van Lake, one of the most important natural resources of the Eastern Anatolia Region and an attraction for people with its unspoiled nature, generated significant interest when it came into focus through an international competition. For the Van Lake photograph that made it to the finals, Vice President Fuat Oktay, Emine Erdoğan wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum and Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez, among many public institutions and civil society organizations, had issued calls of support. Edremit Municipality Mayor İsmail Say, considering the contribution it would make to the city's eco-tourism, announced that they had officially invited Astronaut Kate Rubins, who took the photograph from space, to the city. In the photograph taken from space by the NASA astronaut, the currents in Erciş Bay can be seen very clearly. These current traces, which cannot be seen in any other lake when viewed from space, result from the high amount of soda in the water, while the resulting whiteness transforms into a visual spectacle.