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.

Read More »
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.

Read More »

“The majority of tropical countries are using Landsat imagery as the primary source of information to support their forest change assessments.”


— Johannes Reiche , Feb 1, 2016
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“Whether it’s since 1985 or 2000, we see this greening of the Arctic evident in the Landsat record.”


— Logan Berner, a global change ecologist, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff , Sep 23, 2020
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“Having all of this [30 m] Landsat data available more or less globally since 1984 will keep glaciologists busy for some more years, if not decades.”


— Frank Paul, glaciologist , Nov 27, 2015
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“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
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“Landsat is everywhere, and has been for 40 years.”


— Alan Belward, scientist at European Union’s Joint Research Center , Oct 18, 2017
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“By combining the 34-year record provided by Landsat [30 m] with climate data, we can now quantify relations between water availability and vegetation dynamics in ways that were not previously possible.”


— Dr. Christine Albano, ecohydrologist at the Desert Research Institute , Dec 13, 2019
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“Landsat, with its five-decade record of robust collection, calibration and archiving, and its longstanding service as a global reference to cross-calibrate other missions, improves not only the quality of those systems but the overall quality of the global ‘system of systems’.”


— Kevin Gallagher, Associate Director for Core Science Systems, USGS , Dec 1, 2022
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“Last year the White House found that GPS, weather satellites, and Landsat are the three most critical types of Earth-orbiting assets for civil applications, because they’re used by many economic sectors and fields of research.”


— Sarah Ryker, USGS deputy associate director for climate and land use change , Apr 16, 2015
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“Usage rocketed in 2008, when Landsat made its images free. More than a million images were downloaded in the first year, compared with a previous annual high of 25,000 images sold. More than 20 million images have been downloaded since the archive opened and the rate continues to increase.”


— Wulder & Coops , Sep 4, 2014
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“Satellite data is revolutionizing the way we map the world and the way we understand the natural and anthropogenic processes acting on Earth.”


— Rory Quinn, marine geoscientist, maritime archaeologist, and Landsat data user , Jul 18, 2016
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“Our mapping techniques build on the historical Landsat record to provide highly needed information on regional scale and this helps in evaluating subtle changes in mangroves over a long period of time (trends) and to detect sudden changes due to natural catastrophes or dramatic anthropogenic impacts… [and] Thanks to the increased abundance of Landsat satellite images, it is becoming progressively easier to collect available images of mangrove habitats captured at low tide and high tide.”


— Hesham El-Askary, Center of Excellence in Earth Systems Modeling & Observations and Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University , May 9, 2019
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“[With Landsat 8 and 9 together,] we get really great-quality data every eight days. That’s going to be a boon, especially for water quality applications.”


— Jeff Masek, Landsat 9 Project Scientist (NASA) , Oct 26, 2021
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“This [Google Earth] update was made possible in a large part thanks to the Landsat program and its commitment to free and accessible open data. Landsat, a joint program of the USGS and NASA, has observed the Earth continuously from 1972 to the present day and offers a wealth of information on the changes to the Earth’s surface over time.”


— Chris Herwig, Google Earth and Earth Engine , Jun 27, 2016
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“There is no satellite record that has the temporal reach of Landsat. While new satellite- and aircraft-based sensors are coming online with sub-meter resolution offering more and more spectral bands, none of them allow the types of temporal investigation that the combined generations of Landsat offer.”


— Dr. Zachary Brecheisen, post-doctoral research associate at Purdue University , Dec 10, 2019
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“I really believe that Landsat data made a change in how we perceive global change. All of the things we have done so far would not have been possible without the unique Landsat dataset”


— Dr. Patrick Hostert, Geomatics Lab, Humboldt University , Apr 18, 2018
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“Landsat is an invaluable resource for developing these high resolution maps. Without the Landsat imagery we would not have the spectral information needed to decompose urban landscapes into Local Climate Zone types. Hence the data is at the heart of the project and it is the most critical piece—without Landsat there is no project.”


— Johannes Feddema, University of Victoria , Dec 15, 2016
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“[Landsat] has transformed our understanding of Earth and allows us to better monitor and respond to changes on our planet.”


— Dave Applegate, acting USGS director , Feb 8, 2022
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“The archive is just going to continue to yield good information, good science, better management, reduced costs… The biggest contribution of Landsat will be that archive.”


— Dr. John Schott, professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology , Apr 17, 2020
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“From now on, we’re going to be able to track all of the different types of changes in glaciers – there’s so much science to extract from the data.”


— Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, talking about the Landsat 8-based GoLIVE project , Dec 12, 2016
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“Landsat 9 replaces the older Landsat 7 and represents a step up in terms of image quality and data volume. Having two state-of-the-art platforms in orbit means more frequent data with excellent image quality.”


— Jeff Masek, Landsat 9 Project Scientist (NASA) , Nov 4, 2021
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“We have mapped then analyzed the area of forest converted each year to industrial oil palm and pulpwood plantations from 2001 to 2016, looking mainly at land under company management – that is, concessions. We use LANDSAT satellite imagery to monitor the annual expansion of plantations. We combine this information with annual maps of forest loss also derived using LANDSAT satellites by Matthew Hansen’s research group at the University of Maryland. The Hansen dataset, as we call it, produce…


— David Gaveau, co-creator of the newly updated Atlas of Deforestation and Industrial Plantations in Borneo , Nov 30, 2017
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“The Landsat satellite program has provided images of the Earth’s surface for more than 40 years, and so it is ideal for documenting long-term changes in ecosystems such as giant kelp forests.”


— Kyle Cavanaugh, kelpwatch.org lead scientist; UCLA , Apr 4, 2022
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“Landsat 8, which launched into orbit in 2013, is the newest sensor in the USGS/NASA Landsat Program — superior to its predecessors in many ways. Landsat 8 captures images with greater detail, truer colors, and at an unprecedented frequency — capturing twice as many images as Landsat 7 does every day.”


— Chris Herwig, Google Earth and Earth Engine , Jun 27, 2016
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“This project would not have been possible without the consistent, long-term coverage provided by Landsat. The > 30-year archive of Landsat TM, ETM+, and OLI imagery enabled us to track changes in mangrove range limits on decadal scales.”


— Kyle Cavanaugh , Dec 12, 2016
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ABOUT LANDSAT

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.