BEIJING, Sept. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Three high-tech companies have joined technology in the search for evidence that a 980-foot-long feature on Turkey's Mt. Ararat might be what's left of Noah's Ark.

    The high-tech effort involves GeoEye, INTA Space Turk, along with the talents of Satellite Imaging Corporation. Satellite Imaging Corporation of Houston, Texas has created a 3D terrain model of the so-called "Mt. Ararat anomaly" -- making use of stereo IKONOS satellite image data to create a flyover of the site in remote northeastern Turkey.

    Porcher Taylor, an associate professor at the University of Richmond's School of Continuing Studies, has been at the forefront of utilizing Earth orbiting remote sensing spacecraft to study the Ararat Anomaly from space.

    "To be best of my knowledge, to date, only 2D satellite missions had been flown over the anomaly, not stereo missions," he explained in a press release.

    Taylor said GeoEye's IKONOS satellite serves as a "space-based Indiana Jones" over the anomaly. Furthermore, the GeoEye-1 — to be launched early next year — will make the controversial anomaly almost twice as visible due to that spacecraft's ultra-powerful 0.4 meter resolution.

    The purported anomaly lies surrounded by rugged strato-volcanic rock at the northwestern corner of Mt. Ararat’s western plateau. It sits mostly buried underneath a permanent glacier and drew attention because of its relatively smooth surface texture and unusual physical composition, according to some interpretations. The site occupied by the anomaly is located at 15,300 feet above sea level.

    (Agencies)