English: Astana is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with a population of about 600,000. It was founded as a fort in 1824 on the Ishim River by Siberian Cossacks, and became a railway junction in the early 20th century. Astana became the capital of the newly-independent Kazakhstan in 1997. These two images were acquired March 20, 2001 and September 5, 2003, cover an area of 22.5 x 24 km, and are located near 51.2 degrees north latitude, 71.4 degrees east longitude.