Landsat Science

Landsat Science

Landsat Science

Landsat Science

50 Years of

Landsat Science

“If you really want a long history of understanding any process on Earth, Landsat is where you should go.”

-Tasso Azevedo, MapBiomas Initiative

50 Years of

Landsat Science

“If you really want a long history of understanding any process on Earth, Landsat is where you should go.”

-Tasso Azevedo, MapBiomas Initiative

50 Years of

Landsat Science

“If you really want a long history of understanding any process on Earth, Landsat is where you should go.”

-Tasso Azevedo, MapBiomas Initiative

Landsat Next Defined

Landsat Next Defined

June 29, 2023

Landsat Next is on the horizon—the new mission will not only ensure continuity of the longest space-based record of Earth’s land surface, it will fundamentally transform the breadth and depth of actionable information freely available to end users. Take a look at the new capabilities that will define the next Landsat mission.

A thumbnail for a video titled Data in Harmony, NASA's Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 Project

Data in Harmony: NASA’s Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 Project

April 22, 2024

NASA’s Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) project is a groundbreaking initiative that combines data from Landsats 8 & 9 with the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2A & 2B satellites.

An infrared-color image of sea ice in Antarctic Peninsula

Scenes from the Polar Night

April 2, 2024

Landsat satellites have begun regularly acquiring images of ice at the poles during the winter, with enlightening results.

The GLAMR integrating sphere mounted on the thermal vacuum chamber during Landsat 9 OLI-2 testing.

Landsat 9’s Operational Land Imager 2:
A Well-Known Instrument

March 31, 2024

Landsat 9’s OLI-2 instrument was characterized in unprecedented detail using a new laser-based method of in-band spectral response testing. A continuous relative spectral response dataset and pre-launch testing details have been published in a recent paper.

Landsat Next Defined

Landsat Next Defined

June 29, 2023

Landsat Next is on the horizon—the new mission will not only ensure continuity of the longest space-based record of Earth’s land surface, it will fundamentally transform the breadth and depth of actionable information freely available to end users. Take a look at the new capabilities that will define the next Landsat mission.

A thumbnail for a video titled Data in Harmony, NASA's Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 Project

Data in Harmony: NASA’s Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 Project

April 22, 2024

NASA’s Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) project is a groundbreaking initiative that combines data from Landsats 8 & 9 with the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2A & 2B satellites.

An infrared-color image of sea ice in Antarctic Peninsula

Scenes from the Polar Night

April 2, 2024

Landsat satellites have begun regularly acquiring images of ice at the poles during the winter, with enlightening results.

The GLAMR integrating sphere mounted on the thermal vacuum chamber during Landsat 9 OLI-2 testing.

Landsat 9’s Operational Land Imager 2:
A Well-Known Instrument

March 31, 2024

Landsat 9’s OLI-2 instrument was characterized in unprecedented detail using a new laser-based method of in-band spectral response testing. A continuous relative spectral response dataset and pre-launch testing details have been published in a recent paper.

A Blanket of Ash from Ruang

April 23, 2024

Deluge in the United Arab Emirates

April 19, 2024

Deluge in the United Arab Emirates

April 19, 2024

“Moving out on Landsat 9 is a high priority for NASA and USGS as part of a sustainable land imaging program that will serve the nation into the future as the current Landsat program has done for decades.”

— John Grunsfeld, NASA associate administrator for science , Apr 16, 2015

“[Landsat] became freely available in 2008 and I think that that completely changed how we are able to use this type of data for decision making.”

— Africa Flores , Nov 5, 2020

“We have so many options with Landsat Next, to add additional information and context to support our wetland managers as well as continuing the historical record of change and variability of our wetlands.”

— Bex Dunn, Earth Observation Scientist at Geoscience Australia , Jun 22, 2023

“As we continue the work to understanding our planet in the face of climate change, Landsat’s unique data and record of our changing Earth has proven invaluable,”

— Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator , Jul 21, 2022

“While many previous studies have reported ongoing ice shelf thinning around Antarctica since the 1990s, we didn’t previously know that a lot of it started around then.”

— Robert Bingham, Professor of of Glaciology & Geophysics, University of Edinburgh , Feb 27, 2024

“The economic and scientific benefits to the United States of Landsat imagery far exceed the investment in the system.”

— National Research Council , Aug 20, 2013

“Several satellite systems can now measure the surface urban heat island, but the Landsat program provides decades of continuous, comparable data in the detail necessary to examine variations within a city. That continuity helps scientists measure the impact of changes and track how development patterns change a neighborhood’s heat profile.”

— Daniel P. Johnson, Associate Professor of Geography, IUPUI , Jun 14, 2022

“The quality of the Landsat 8 images is simply amazing!”

— Amaury Dehecq, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab , Dec 12, 2016

“If you don’t know what Landsat (NASA/USGS) and Sentinel-1/Sentinel-2 (ESA) are, they are scientific Earth observation missions involving large, exquisitely calibrated satellites that capture imagery of the entire globe on a regular cadence. Landsat is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In fact, there have been 9 different satellites bearing the Landsat name over those five decades—Landsat 9 was launched last year! The data they produce is open and hosted freely for anyone to access. Pr…

— Joe Morrison , May 23, 2022

“The Landsat science community is giddy at the results they’re seeing from the latest Landsat instrument. It’s that much better than the last one.”

— Cary Ludtke, Operational Space VP and General Manager, Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp. , Nov 6, 2014

“We show governments across the world that it makes financial sense to release broadly and openly the data that the taxpayer has already paid for. It will build your economy, it is certainly good for transparent government and, it is a boon for capacity building and education.”

— Barb Ryan, Secretariat Director of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) , Feb 7, 2017

“The Landsat series of satellites is a cornerstone of our Earth observing capability. The world relies on Landsat data to detect and measure land cover/land use change, the health of ecosystems, and water availability.”

— Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator , Mar 4, 2015

“Our mission right now is really a quantum step forward from previous Landsats… I can’t wait to see what comes out of all of these emerging applications and how well it supports the user.”

— Jim Pontius, Landsat Next Project Manager, NASA , Jun 29, 2023

“When fighting broke out, the [New York Times] graphics team pulled up images from [the] Landsat 8 satellite to look for changes on the ground.”

— Greg Miller , Oct 23, 2014

“We recognize the essential role forests play in the long-term health of our planet, in contributing to sustainable development, and in meeting our shared goal of avoiding dangerous climate change. More than a billion people depend directly on forests for their livelihoods, and the remaining six billion of us depend on forests for a variety of economic, social, and environmental benefits such as the rainfall, biodiversity, pollinators, carbon storage, and clean water they provide. Forests a…

— Leaders of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, France, Gabon, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Liberia, Mexico, Norway, Peru, United Kingdom, and the United States , Dec 1, 2015

“Landsat has really become the gold standard of remote sensing from space. It’s provided an invaluable, indelible record of the recent history of our planet.”

— Anne Castle, assistant secretary for water and science at the U.S. Department of the Interior , Jul 23, 2012

“The growth of open satellite-image archives such as Landsat is leading to more sophisticated data products.”

— Andrew K. Skidmore, et al. , Jul 23, 2015

“Landsat 8 is part of a revolution of how much remote sensing can do to track the polar areas.”

— Ted Scambos, Lead Scientist at the National Snow & Ice Data Center , Oct 18, 2017

“I saw more use of Landsat as the gold standard of calibration than I’ve ever seen in the past. Most of the commercial vendors I heard from called out Landsat as the gold standard. Even the European vendors called out Landsat, which I thought was unique.”

— Greg Stensaas, manager of the Requirements, Capabilities and Analysis for Earth Observation (RCA-EO) project and JACIE coordinator for EROS , Oct 5, 2018

““When the first images appeared, people would talk about the folds in the Appalachian Mountains. There had been textbooks written that described the processes that lead to those formations. For the first time it was possible to observe from great height what people had been talking about for hundreds of years.”

— Dr. Jim Irons, Landsat 8 Project Scientist , Mar 1, 2014

“Sterling service of over four decades of Earth Observations. No ifs, no buts, just a long-term mission to aid science & society.”

— Prof. Chris Rizos, Geodesy & Navigation at University of New South Wales; commenting on the Landsat 8 5-year anniversary , Feb 14, 2018

“Landsat has been historically the gold standard reference for calibration of many different missions across the whole globe. The radiometric quality for Landsat Next will be at least as good as any previous Landsat. So, we will maintain that standard for calibration and referencing for all missions.”

— Jim Pontius, Landsat Next Project Manager, NASA , Jun 29, 2023

“Landsat is the gold standard calibration reference because the Landsat Program has committed to world-class radiometric and geometric calibration standards.”

— Julia Barsi, Landsat Calibration Scientist , May 11, 2023

“The Landsat satellites have provided an unprecedented volume of high quality medium-resolution imagery spanning more than 30 years. Without this record it would be exceedingly difficult to place presently observed changes in ice discharge into a longer-term context.”

— Alex Gardner, NASA JPL , Dec 18, 2015

The NASA/USGS Landsat Program provides the longest continuous space-based record of Earth’s land in existence. Landsat data give us information essential for making informed decisions about Earth’s resources and environment.