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| LANDSAT program | |
|---|---|
| Name | LANDSAT program |
| Caption | Landsat 8 spacecraft |
| Country | United States |
| Operator | National Aeronautics and Space Administration / United States Geological Survey |
| Status | Active |
| First launch | 1972 |
| Last launch | 2013 |
| Spacecraft type | Earth observation satellite |
LANDSAT program
The LANDSAT program is a long-running series of United States civil Earth observation satellites that provide multispectral and thermal imagery for scientific, environmental, and resource management purposes. Initiated through collaborations among National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Geological Survey, and industry partners such as RCA Corporation and Ball Aerospace, the program established global, continuous remote sensing records used by researchers at institutions including Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of California, Berkeley. Data from the program underpin applications in fields supported by agencies like National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and international bodies such as United Nations Environment Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The program supplies moderate-resolution optical and thermal images of the Earth's land surfaces, combining instruments developed by contractors including Eastman Kodak, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon Technologies. Imagery supports mapping efforts undertaken by organizations such as United States Geological Survey and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and has been integrated into global datasets curated by European Space Agency, NASA Earth Observing System, and the Global Land Cover Facility. Operating in sun-synchronous polar orbits, the mission architecture parallels other missions like SPOT (satellite) and Sentinel-2 and complements hyperspectral efforts such as Hyperion.
Concepts for systematic satellite-based land observation trace to programs at National Aeronautics and Space Administration and early proponents including scientists from Harvard University, Stanford University, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The inaugural satellite launched in 1972 following authorization tied to investigative reports by panels convened at White House and studies by National Academy of Sciences. Subsequent generations—driven by technological milestones from institutions like MIT Lincoln Laboratory and companies such as IBM—responded to needs articulated in policy forums including hearings before the United States Congress and directives from Department of the Interior. International cooperation expanded with users from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and Australian Space Agency.
Platform iterations include multiple spacecraft developed by contractors including General Electric, Hughes Aircraft Company, and Northrop Grumman. Key instruments evolved from the original Multispectral Scanner System—developed with contributions from Jet Propulsion Laboratory and University of Arizona—to the Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, and later the Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor. Instruments share heritage with sensors on missions like MODIS and ASTER. Payloads measure reflected solar radiation across visible, near-infrared, shortwave-infrared, and thermal bands, enabling indices popularized in literature from University of Maryland and Purdue University, and analytical techniques advanced at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Wageningen University & Research.
Products include calibrated Level-1 scenes, orthorectified mosaics, surface reflectance datasets, and derived products such as normalized difference vegetation index maps and land cover classifications used by European Commission, World Bank, and NASA research programs. Applications span agriculture monitoring by United States Department of Agriculture, deforestation tracking by World Wildlife Fund, urban planning in municipalities served by United Nations Human Settlements Programme, water resource assessments by International Water Management Institute, and disaster response coordinated with Federal Emergency Management Agency. The archive supports longitudinal studies at research centers including Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
Operational responsibilities shifted between National Aeronautics and Space Administration and United States Geological Survey with procurement and launch services involving contractors such as United Launch Alliance and SpaceX in later phases. Data access policies moved from cost-recovery models to open-access regimes after policy changes advocated by stakeholders including researchers from University of California, Santa Barbara and advocacy groups like Open Geospatial Consortium. Ground segment operations interface with tracking networks such as Deep Space Network-style infrastructures and international stations like those at Svalbard Satellite Station and McMurdo Station via partnerships with agencies including Norwegian Space Agency.
The program enabled transformative research published in journals associated with American Geophysical Union, Nature, and Science, informing climate assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and biodiversity reports by Convention on Biological Diversity. Long-term records supported studies at National Center for Atmospheric Research, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, influencing land-use policy in entities like European Commission Directorate-General for Environment and national ministries. Educational programs at institutions such as University of Colorado Boulder and University of Oxford integrate datasets into curricula, while commercial sectors including precision agriculture startups and geospatial firms like Esri leverage data for product development.
Controversies have involved procurement disputes in cases brought before forums like United States Court of Federal Claims, debates over data pricing policies debated in Congressional hearings, and concerns about data continuity raised by researchers at Royal Society. Intellectual property and commercial licensing issues implicated contractors such as DigitalGlobe and spurred policy responses from Office of Management and Budget. Environmental and indigenous rights advocates, including organizations like Survival International and Greenpeace, have critiqued uses of imagery in land tenure disputes and surveillance applications, prompting discussions in venues such as Human Rights Council and academic conferences at American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Category:Earth observation satellites Category:United States satellites