Can you actually see the Great Wall from space?

Built from millenniums ago, some sections of the Great Wall of China were believed visible, seen from space. Actually, you are able to trace the Great Wall by zooming in some certain pictures taken by the satellite, which seems like a confirmation that the Walls of China do deserve the "Great".

However, the answer for the rational doubt above about the Great Wall is a capital No, and it's more like a popular urban myth that the Great Wall can be seen with the unaided naked eye from Space.

Answers from Astronauts

Buzz Aldrin, the second person landed on the moon in 1969, said he didn't see the Great Wall from the moon when asked about it.

Even the first astronaut of China, Yang Liwei said that he couldn't tell the great wall from the capsule window during his stay in space in 2003.

Later, Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut who has spent about 5 months at the International Space in 2012-2013, also confirmed that via Twitter, "The Great Wall of China is not visible from orbit with the naked eye. It's too narrow, and it follows the natural contours and colours of the landscape."

Can you actually see the Great Wall from space?
Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield

Why can't We See the Great Wall from Space?

The Great Wall of China officially is a maximum 9.1 m (30 ft) wide, and for most of its length is about the same color as the soil surrounding it (made mostly of soil or stones from nearby regions), which makes it tricky to find even in a high-resolution satellite photo from Low Earth Orbit. If you are not familiar with the location of different Great Wall sections, it is even harder to find them. Seen from the Space, our mother planet is just like a white-and-blue little ball, let alone a 9.1m wide wall, and it will be invisible if over 30km height due to the incapability of human eyes. Even you may think the length of the wall affects your visibility, the thickness of the Great Wall is so small that is pretty bad for a large stretch, and to look for the Great Wall from space is like to ask a person to find a worm in a vast forest from over 1 km away.

Can you actually see the Great Wall from space?
Satellite at Low Earth Orbit

Pictures of the Great Wall of China from Space

Although the Great Wall couldn't be seen by the unaided eyes, if patient, you can still pick out the Great Wall from some high-resolution space-based photographs which were taken from a satellite, and these pictures are able to show the detailed man-made features quite distinctly.

In fact, NASA says astronauts can indeed see cities, highways, bridges, dams and airports, as well as city lights at night — all from in orbit.

In 2004, the US astronaut Leroy Chiao took the first verifiable picture of the Great Wall on the International Space Station. This photo show several sections of the Great Wall in a region of Inner Mongolia, northern China, though he could not really see the wall with his unaided eyes at that time.

Can you actually see the Great Wall from space?
Great Wall Satellite Photo from Nasa (Click to Enlarge)

How to Plan a Great Wall Hiking Tour

There are many stunning Great Walls in Beijing offering you the marvellous views, including Mutianyu Great Wall, Jiankou Great Wall, Simatai Great Wall, Badaling Great Wall and Huanghuacheng Great Wall. Exploring the representative Jinshanling Great Wall and the only lakeside Huanghuacheng Great Wall, trekking on steep mountain ridge of Jiankou Great and the near section of the better preserved Mutianyu Great Wall, admiring the famous and renovated Badaling Great Wall, you can encounter different sparking sides of each section and commemorate the man-made wonder of the ancient Chinese people. China Discovery offers you tailor-made tour service, and you can fully experience all the famous great walls in 2 days. If you have more time, it's also recommended to explore other attractions in Beijing, such as the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and More!

Top-Recommended Great Wall Hiking Tour

>> 2 Days Mutianyu and Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking

>> 2 Days Jinshanling and Simatai Great Wall Wild Hiking

>> 4 Days Classic Beijing Tour with Great Wall Hiking

Great Wall of China Facts

Great Wall of China Guide

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Since 1904, people have been claiming that the Great Wall of China is so big and so prominent, that it can be seen from the surface of the moon. After 65 years of waiting, Apollo astronauts were able to confirm the authenticity of this claim. Their answer: no.

Can you actually see the Great Wall from space?

Robert Ripley at the Great Wall in 1933.

Alan Bean, of the Apollo 12 mission, recounts that all you can really make out on the Earth are lots of white clouds and snow, some blue patches, a little bit of yellow, and—every once in a while—a patch of green.

“No man-made object is visible at this scale.”—Alan Bean, Apollo 12 astronaut.

A Closer Look

The Chinese space program was shaken to learn that their own astronaut, Yang Liwei couldn’t see the wall from space. This at least confirmed the invisibility wasn’t a political conspiracy.

After numerous missions to space, by astronauts from countries all over the world, nobody could see the wall. The International Space Station, which is 238,601 miles closer to the Earth than the Moon, or only 0.1% as far away, still offers no view of the Wall with the naked eye.

Can you actually see the Great Wall from space?

The Great Wall of China from space. Can you see it? From: NASA

Finally Photographed

It was Chinese-American astronaut Leroy Chiao who would eventually spot the wall using a camera and 180 mm lens. Even then, he could only identify a small portion of it. The human eye is often compared to having a roughly 50 mm field of view, meaning that the 180 mm lens far surpassed human capability.

Can you actually see the Great Wall from space?

Yeah, that’s obviously it, right? From: NASA

Chiao took another photograph using a 400 mm lens, and experts were even less sure that he had taken a photo of the actual wall. Favorable snowfall and sunlight had seemed to be largely responsible for photographing the wall the first time.

NASA also confirms the Great Wall is nearly impossible to photograph using conventional means, but says low-orbit satellites can capture it using radar.

Is there a building you can see from space?

Choose a legend: The Great Wall of China is the one of the few man-made structures visible from orbit. Or, more remarkably, it's the only human artifact on Earth visible from the moon.

Can the Great Pyramid be seen from space?

The Great Pyramids of Giza are one of the most incredible sights on earth. They're the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and they can also be seen from space. These tombs were created by the Ancient Egyptians some 4,500 years ago, and since then, humans have found a way to view them from outer space.

Can you see war from space?

European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer, who returned to Earth from the International Space Station last month, said he saw the war from the ISS from an altitude of 400 kilometers.

Why Great Wall of China can be seen from space?

The Great Wall of China is not visible to the naked eye from space, even in low-earth orbit, according to NASA. Even though the wall is very long, it is also very thin, making it essentially invisible. In fact, no man-made objects are visible from space by the naked eye, according to astronauts.