Requirements for a Landsat Data Continuity Mission

James R. Irons, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Jeffrey G. Masek, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

 

Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, vol. 72, no. 10, pp: 1102–1108.

Routine observation of the Earth's land surface from space began with the launch of the first Landsat satellite in 1972. Since then at least one Landsat satellite has continuously monitored the ongoing changes in land cover and land use driven by our expanding populating and advancing technology. The newest Landsat satellite, Landsat 7 launched in 1999, is now beyond its five year design life and its capacity to collect images of the land surface have been diminished by a problem with its sole Earth-viewing sensor. The nation and the world need a replacement for Landsat 7 to help manage and understand the consequences of the changes going on around us. The next mission, called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), has been delayed by several changes in the U.S. Government strategy for building and launching the mission. NASA has now received clear direction to launch a LDCM satellite that collects images comparable to the images collected by earlier Landsat satellites while taking advantage of technologic advancements to improve performance and reduce cost. The LDCM is being specified to serve as a core capability within a more comprehensive system of satellites operationally observing the Earth's oceans, atmosphere, and land.