Knowra Landsat program Landsat program The Landsat program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions operated by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey since 1972. Its long-running record of multispectral imagery supports research and monitoring of land change.
Landsat 8 : A Landsat satellite launched in 2013, carrying the Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor. Its two sensors continue the program’s multispectral and thermal observations.
Remote sensing : The collection of information about objects or areas without direct physical contact. Landsat is a major long-running example of satellite remote sensing.
Earth Resources Technology Satellite 1 : The original name of Landsat 1, launched in 1972 to test satellite observations of Earth’s resources. Its mission established the program before the Landsat name became standard.
Landsat data policy : The policies governing access, distribution, and use of imagery collected by Landsat satellites. Free public access since 2008 greatly expanded the archive’s scientific and practical use.
Sentinel-2 : A European Space Agency mission providing multispectral imagery of Earth’s land and coastal waters. Its complementary observations offer higher revisit frequency in many areas.
Landsat 9 : A Landsat satellite launched in 2021, designed to extend the program’s imagery record alongside Landsat 8. It maintains frequent paired observations with Landsat 8.
Land cover : The physical material covering Earth’s surface, such as forest, water, crops, or built structures. Landsat images are classified to map land-cover patterns and their change.
NASA : The United States government agency responsible for civilian spaceflight and aeronautics research. NASA developed and launched Landsat missions, and continues to build satellites.
Global Land Survey : A coordinated collection of Landsat imagery assembled to provide consistent global land coverage across selected years. It made cross-region and historical land-cover comparisons more systematic.
MODIS : A NASA instrument aboard Terra and Aqua satellites that observes Earth in many spectral bands at broad spatial coverage. MODIS trades Landsat’s finer spatial detail for much more frequent global observations.
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