Landsat

The Landsat program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Since Landsat 1 launched as the Earth Resources Technology Satellite on July 23, 1972, Landsat satellites have continuously acquired images of Earth’s land surface—the longest continuous space-based record of it. The data are distributed from the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Eight Landsat satellites have reached orbit. Landsat 8, launched in 2013, and Landsat 9, launched on September 27, 2021, work together and observe the same place on Earth every eight days. Access to Landsat data became free and open in 2008; NASA and USGS estimate the data contributed $25.6 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023.

The next mission, Landsat 10, is to launch no later than 2031. NASA released the request for proposals for its spacecraft in July 2026.

Read more about Landsat

• Landsat: 54 years of watching the land, and what comes after Landsat 9Since 1972 Landsat satellites have recorded Earth’s land, and since 2008 anyone can download the record free. NASA builds them and the USGS runs them; the next one has been redesigned, and its budget is in dispute.
• Why the station, Landsat, GPS, GOES and Webb fly where they doHeight sets a satellite’s speed; tilt and shape set what it sees. Five neighborhoods, from the station about 400 km up to Webb 1.5 million km away, and the work each one makes possible.