Landsat Program Timeline

  • Released Monday, December 16, 2013

The Landsat program offers the longest continuous global record of the Earth’s surface; it continues to deliver visually stunning and scientifically valuable images of our planet. This short video highlights Landsat’s many benefits to society.

In 1975, NASA Administrator Dr. James Fletcher predicted that if one space age development would save the world, it would be Landsat and its successor satellites. Since the early 1970s, Landsat has continuously and consistently archived images of Earth; this unparalleled data archive gives scientist the ability to assess changes in Earth’s landscape.

For over 40 years, the Landsat program has collected spectral information from Earth’s surface, creating a historical archive unmatched in quality, detail, coverage, and length.

“It was the granddaddy of them all, as far as starting the trend of repetitive, calibrated observations of the Earth at a spatial resolution where one can detect man’s interaction with the environment,” Dr. Darrel Williams, the Landsat 7 Project Scientist, states about Landsat.

Landsat sensors have a moderate spatial-resolution. You cannot see individual houses on a Landsat image, but you can see large man-made objects such as highways. This is an important spatial resolution because it is coarse enough for global coverage, yet detailed enough to characterize human-scale processes such as urban growth, deforestation, agriculture water use, and more.

Animation of the timeline of the Landsat program, from Landsat 1, which launched in 1972, through Landsat 9, currently being built. The hashed lines for Landsats 7-9 indicate the uncertain lifespan of the satellites. Landsat 6 failed to reach orbit on launch.

Version with a title of the animated timeline of the Landsat program, from Landsat 1, which launched in 1972, through Landsat 9, currently being built. The hashed lines for Landsats 7-9 indicate the uncertain lifespan of the satellites. Landsat 6 failed to reach orbit on launch.

This is an image depicting the timeline  of the Landsat program, from Landsat 1, which launched in 1972, through Landsat 9, currently being built. The hashed lines for Landsats 7-9 indicate the uncertain lifespan of the satellites. Landsat 6 failed to reach orbit on launch. To download a PDF of the timeline, click here.

This is an image depicting the timeline of the Landsat program, from Landsat 1, which launched in 1972, through Landsat 9, currently being built. The hashed lines for Landsats 7-9 indicate the uncertain lifespan of the satellites. Landsat 6 failed to reach orbit on launch.

To download a PDF of the timeline, click here.

This is an image depicting the timeline of the Landsat program, from Landsat 1, which launched in 1972, through Landsat 9, currently being built. The darker line for Landsat 7 indicates the collection of data without the Scan-Line Corrector. The darker lines for Landsat 4 and Landsat 5 indicate problems that arose after launch with data collection or transmission. The hashed lines for Landsats 7-9 indicate the uncertain lifespan of the satellites.To download a PDF of the timeline, click here.

This is an image depicting the timeline of the Landsat program, from Landsat 1, which launched in 1972, through Landsat 9, currently being built. The darker line for Landsat 7 indicates the collection of data without the Scan-Line Corrector. The darker lines for Landsat 4 and Landsat 5 indicate problems that arose after launch with data collection or transmission. The hashed lines for Landsats 7-9 indicate the uncertain lifespan of the satellites.

To download a PDF of the timeline, click here.



Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Release date

This page was originally published on Monday, December 16, 2013.
This page was last updated on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 at 12:18 AM EST.


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