For almost ten years the bulk of the construction work at Ground Zero has been on the vast infrastructure below ground. Now, seeing the memorial site illuminated by the rising towers, I'm relieved to see that this hallowed space  is surrounded by a vibrant city.

To navigate the panorama above use the tools in the lower left corner. The panorama consists of about 35 separate images stitched together with software to represent a 180 degree view of the site.

John Makely / msnbc.com

Workmen put the finishing touches on the south reflecting pool in preparation for the opening of the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City.

From the archive: To see a 24-hour time-lapse of the construction at the World Trade Center site in September 2010, click the link below.

Aaron Sasson / NBC News

"...and the rebuild begins. Amazing." -- That's what NBC News photographer Aaron Sasson had to say when he tweeted this picture today. He let us know via email what the circumstances were:

We're working on a story for tonight's NBC Nightly News broadcast with Ron Mott reporting about a husband and wife who are rebuilding their hair salon in the most heavily damaged area of Joplin, MO. This couple went to the city, got a building permit, and started the rebuilding process right away. They said they hope to have a roof up by the end of the weekend.

Here's the story from Nightly:

Previously on PhotoBlog from Aaron: iPhone panoramic photograph of Joplin, Missouri tornado devastation

Aaron Sasson / NBC News via yfrog.com

NBC News photographer Aaron Sasson tweeted this picture this morning:

@AaronSasson: More devastation from the hospital site in #Joplin, MO. #tornado http://yfrog.com/h8w1bioj

Aaron told us via email how he made this picture and what else he is up to:

I took multiple pictures with the iPhone and used an app called Autostitch. I use it ALL the time. I made a wide angle adapter for my iphone, and use that to take pics and video. Home made...yes. I'll have to post a shot of that too.

I've been shooting vid since leaving airport last night all through the process of getting to a breaking story and will cut it on imovie for iphone today and try to post tonight.

The other gear? Packed in dry cases and been shooting stills and video while hunkered down.

He's not the only NBC News staffer filing live updates and pictures via Twitter. See the latest updates at the NBC News twitter feed. A few excerpts below:

RT @zmarcus: #Joplin sky reminds me of an oncoming wave. http://yfrog.com/gz8esdkj

From our producer on the ground in the tornado-hit city. RT @zmarcus Devastation in #joplinhttp://t.co/mBUo2kO

Correspondent Ron Mott is also tweeting:

We're in path of severe wx right now in #Joplin. Pea-sized hail falling but at least the wind is relatively calm. Should clear soon #tornado

This was a two-story home reduced to one level after Sunday's #tornado in #Joplin. Phenomenal damage http://yfrog.com/h6yzjaxj

For pictures, video and updates from a variety of folks in Joplin, follow the latest updates at the BreakingNews.com feed on the tornado story.

Meanwhile, we're regularly updating our slideshow on the aftermath of the Joplin twister, and letting folks know when we update via the @msnbc_pictures Twitter account.

A 28 foot tall replica of America's Statue of Liberty, which was created last spring as a tourist attraction, is surrounded by destroyed buildings in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, on March 28.  Crews have started clearing the wreckage, leaving behind small tiles and stones. (Koki Uemura  - Sankei Shimbun / MSN-Japan)

Kimimasa Mayama / EPA

See more panoramic images from the disaster in Japan.

• Panoramic image: Destruction in the interior of Ohkawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki City, Japan
• Panoramic image: Sightseeing ship atop house in Otsuchi, Japan
• Grounded cargo ship in Kamaishi port, Japan
• Tokyo dimming the lights because of nationwide electrical shortages
• Schools becoming makeshift relief centers in tsunami damaged Minamisanriku, Japan
• Destruction in Kesennuma, Japan
• Damage in Natori, Japan
• Inside the passenger terminal of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image shows the damage in Kesennuma, Japan

See ongoing coverage of the disaster in Japan in PhotoBlog and in our slideshow.

Textbooks, drawings and musical instruments are scattered around the damaged classroom of Ohkawa Elementary School, Ishinomaki city, Japan, on March 21. The school, located at the mouth of Kitagami River, was swallowed by a tsunami as students and teachers tried to escape outside after the huge earthquake on March 11. Of 108 students, 21 were confirmed dead and 56 are still missing. (Koki Uemura, Sankei Shimbun / MSN Japan)

See more panoramic images from the disaster in Japan.

• Panoramic image: Sightseeing ship atop house in Otsuchi, Japan
• Grounded cargo ship in Kamaishi port, Japan
• Tokyo dimming the lights because of nationwide electrical shortages
• Schools becoming makeshift relief centers in tsunami damaged Minamisanriku, Japan
• Destruction in Kesennuma, Japan
• Damage in Natori, Japan
• Inside the passenger terminal of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image shows the damage in Kesennuma, Japan

 For more images from Japan, see our slideshow and Japan coverage in PhotoBlog. 

This panoramic photo taken on March 23 shows a sightseeing ship left atop a two-story building by the tsunami that hit Japan on March 11. (Koki Uemura, Sankei Shimbun / MSN Japan)

See more panoramic images from the disaster in Japan.

• Grounded cargo ship in Kamaishi port, Japan
• Tokyo dimming the lights because of nationwide electrical shortages
• Schools becoming makeshift relief centers in tsunami damaged Minamisanriku, Japan
• Destruction in Kesennuma, Japan
• Damage in Natori, Japan
• Inside the passenger terminal of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image shows the damage in Kesennuma, Japan

 For more images from Japan, see our slideshow and Japan coverage in PhotoBlog.

A cargo ship called Asia Symphony is left stranded after being lifted up onto the promenade of the docks by the March 11 quake and tsunami at the port of Kamaishi town in Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. (Koki Uemura / Sankei Shimbun / MSN Japan)

See more panoramic images from the disaster in Japan.

• Panoramic images: Tokyo dims the lights because of nationwide electrical shortages
• Panoramic image: Schools become makeshift relief centers in tsunami damaged Minamisanriku, Japan
• Panoramic image of the destruction in Kesennuma, Japan
• Panoramic image of the damage in Natori, Japan
• Panoramic image from inside the passenger terminal of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image shows the damage in Kesennuma, Japan

See ongoing coverage of the disaster in Japan in PhotoBlog and in our slideshow.

Koki Uemura / Sankei Shimbun / MSN Japan

A cargo ship called Asia Symphony is left stranded after being lifted up onto the promenade of the docks by the March 11 quake and tsunami at the port of Kamaishi town.

Two panoramic images, shot from the same spot in the Akihabara district of central Tokyo, show the usual look of the famed electronics and anime shopping area and how it has changed since the 9.0 earthquake that hit Japan on March 11. The first image, made March 19, 2011, shows most of the lights off, and only a few people are seen on the streets. Central Tokyo did not incur major damage from the earthquake, but most electric signs on commercial buildings throughout the city have been turned off in response to a nationwide shortage of electricity.

The second image, taken Nov. 19, 2010, shows a normal weekend evening in the district, with bright neon lights and people walking on sidewalks and narrow alleys lined with shops. (Shigeru Okada, VR factory / Sanke Shimbun)

See more panoramic images from the disaster in Japan.

• Panoramic image: Schools become makeshift relief centers in tsunami damaged Minamisanriku, Japan
• Panoramic image of the destruction in Kesennuma, Japan
• Panoramic image of the damage in Natori, Japan
• Panoramic image from inside the passenger terminal of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image shows the damage in Kesennuma, Japan

 
See ongoing coverage of the disaster in Japan in PhotoBlog and in our slideshow.

Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP - Getty Images file

City lights and billboards are turned off in Tokyo's Shibuya fashion district on March 24, 2011.

The producers making these panoramic images for PhotoBlog have decided to begin covering relief efforts in Japan. I understand their decision. At some point the destruction is overwhelming, and you want to pay more attention to the survivors and those who are helping.

I’m struck by the smiling faces of the children in this image. I think kids are stronger than we give them credit for.

In tsunami-stricken Minamisanriku, where more than 8,000 people are still missing, many survivors have taken refuge in school gymnasiums. This panoramic shows the conditions in Shizugawa Elementary school on March 19, 2011. There is a sense of safety, but many basic needs are still not being met. (Koki Uemura / Sankei Shimbun / MSN Japan)

Stephen Morrison / EPA

Sugawara Haruto, center, plays with other children at Sezugawa Secondary School, which has been set up as an evacuation center and is now home to more than 280 people, in Minamisanriku.

KYODO / Reuters

An "SOS" signal is written on the sports field of a high school after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck Minamisanriku.

See more panoramic images from the disaster in Japan.

• Panoramic image of the destruction in Kesennuma, Japan
• Panoramic image of the damage in Natori, Japan
• Panoramic image from inside the passenger terminal of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image shows the damage in Kesennuma, Japan

See ongoing coverage of the disaster in Japan in PhotoBlog and in our slideshow.

A ship stands among the ruins of a residential district in Kesennuma, Japan. It was washed inland from a nearby port when the tsunami hit Kesennuma on March 11th. (Kota Kiriyama / Sankei Shimbun / MSN Japan)

Chris McGrath / Getty Images

Firefighters search through the rubble next to the large grounded cargo ship in Kesennuma, on March 21, 2011.

See more panoramic images from the disaster in Japan.

• Panoramic image of the damage in Natori, Japan
• Panoramic image from inside the passenger terminal of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image shows the damage in Kesennuma, Japan

See ongoing coverage of the disaster in Japan in PhotoBlog and in our slideshow.

Natori was a densely populated coastal town of 72,000 people. It suffered critical damage from the earthquake and tsunami on March 11. Rescue workers reached Natori on March 14. They found few survivors because the town was nearly wiped off the map. The Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant is located 30 miles to the south, and the remaining residents of Natori are concerned about leaking radiation. (Masaki Furumaya / Sankei Shimbun / MSN Japan)

Mark Baker / AP

A man checks a list of names at an evacuation center in Natori, Japan on March 18, 2011.

Yegor Trubnikov / Reuters

People walk among the debris of buildings wrecked by last week's earthquake and tsunami in Natori, Japan on March 20.

See more panoramic images from the disaster in Japan.

• Panoramic image from inside the passenger terminal of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image shows the damage in Kesennuma, Japan

Click here to see our continuing visual coverage of the disaster in Japan.

About 1,200 people were trapped inside the Sendai Airport passenger terminal when the earthquake and resulting tsunami struck on March 11. They remained cut off from all outside contact and had to survive on their own for more than two days until help arrived. This panoramic image, made on March 17, shows the damage to the interior of the airport. (Masaki Furumaya / Sankei Shimbun / MSN Japan)

Mark Baker / AP

Computer laptops lie damaged on the floor of an airport building at Sendai Airport, March 19. The U.S. military have been asked to help clear the debris and get the airport fully operational as soon as possible.

Jiji Press / AFP - Getty Images

The damaged radar room in the control tower at the Sendai airport.

See more panoramic images from the disaster in Japan.

• Panoramic image of the airport in Sendai, Japan
• Panoramic image shows the damage in Kesennuma, Japan