The NASA space center’s computer transforms digital data recovered from the satellites into satellite maps and NASA images that are projected onto computer screens or laser-printed onto chart paper. The final images resemble aerial photographs, but are created, manipulated and modified with less effort, time and cost. An aerial survey of the state made by airplane, for example, would require 250 individual photographs, pieced together manually, a year of toil and $225,000. The same job can be done by satellite remote sensing with the tap of a few buttons for $10,000.