CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Atlantis' astronauts photographed the beauties and blemishes of Earth for a documentary film today as they sped through the third day of an experiment-filled space flight.

"We just got some great shots of Central America, right over the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The city of San Jose was completely clear," said astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz, who was born in San Jose, Costa Rica.

But the 70-millimeter motion pictures are not for home movies. The crews of several shuttle flights have been snapping thousands of feet of film of Earth's features for a documentary called "Exploring the Blue Planet." The large-screen film will debut next September at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.