The USGS Landsat satellite program marked its 50th year of Earth observation service in 2022.
Sioux Falls, SD—The U.S. Geological Survey and NASA are celebrating half a century of nonstop Earth observation from space with the golden anniversary of the Landsat program, which was first launched to record Satellite images of Earth on July 23, 1972.
“For 50 years, the Landsat program has documented conditions on Earth. Now, in the face of historic droughts, wildfires and extreme weather events accelerated by climate change, it is more important than ever for us to continue this program into the future for the next 50 years,” said Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science. “There is no better source of information to document the changes happening to our planet’s landscapes, and we need this continuous record to help our communities become more resilient to the dramatic effects we are seeing.”
In 1972, NASA, the world’s leading experts in space exploration, and the USGS, an Interior Department agency that already had nearly 100 years of groundbreaking scientific study of Earth’s systems under its belt, joined forces to launch the first Landsat satellite to Earth. orbit As with each subsequent iteration of the program, NASA built and launched the satellite and then turned the reins over to the USGS for operational control.
“As we continue to work to understand our planet in the face of climate change, Landsat’s unique data and record of our changing Earth has proven invaluable,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Over the past 50 years, eight Landsat satellites have circled the planet, helping to save and improve lives and support our economy. NASA will continue to work with USGS to improve access to the unprecedented record of 50 years of Landsat and building on the program’s legacy.”
“Landsat’s legacy and impressive data record is something to celebrate,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth Sciences Division. “Beyond the 50-year continuous record of how Earth’s land surfaces have changed, at NASA we are proud to work with our partners at the USGS to provide free and open access to Landsat data. This information has helped researchers and communities around the world monitor Earth’s natural resources, from crop growth to forest management, and plan for the future as we adapt to a changing planet.”
The Landsat program introduced a powerful tool for detecting, cataloging and analyzing long-term changes in the Earth’s land surfaces, surface waters and coastlines through satellite remote sensing. It allowed scientists to see the world—that is, we see ourselves—changing through time in a comprehensive, comprehensive, and objective way. It allowed us to see our cities grow, our wild lands transform, our oceans advance and our glaciers retreat. It allowed us to track the impacts of wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes, and the myriad indelible marks of climate change.
In 2008, the USGS made access to the entire Landsat Earth imagery catalog open and free to the world, greatly expanding public access and use of the data for applications of earth sciences, education and environmental justice. The world’s largest collection of remote sensing images is distributed from the USGS Earth Resources and Observation Science Center, known as EROS.
“Many people have no idea how much Earth imagery has improved their daily lives as it has been integrated into modern technologies,” said Kevin Gallagher, associate director of Core Science Systems at the USGS. “Like GPS and weather data, Landsat information is woven into the fabric of our economy and society.”
Commercial vendors use Landsat as a reference to improve their own imagery and develop new products and services. Governments, industry, and nonprofit organizations use Landsat to detect and contain wildfires, increase global crop production, identify hunger risks, conserve water, and control forest-killing diseases. Landsat also provides a unique and unbiased record for understanding our global climate change and addressing its impacts on people, places and wildlife.
Landsat data is used every day to help us better understand and sustainably manage our dynamic planet. With the mission at its 50-year milestone, the USGS and NASA are looking forward to expanding and improving their data record through its successor mission, Landsat Next.
“Landsat Next will deliver significant improvements over current satellites to even better support science, public services and commercial innovations,” Gallagher said. “And its future capabilities will also leverage key international and commercial partnerships to meet an even broader range of our users’ growing needs.”
To learn more about Landsat and explore Earth imagery, visit:
Landsat: Celebration of 50 years.
###
USGS provides science for a changing world. Learn more at www.usgs.gov or follow us on Twitter @USGS, Instagram @USGS or Facebook @USGeologicalSurvey.