The Operational Land Imager 2, or OLI-2, will detect visible and infrared light from Earth's surface, providing data on our changing planet. OLI-2 was built and tested at Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado. Landsat 9, a partnership between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, is a series of satellites that began with Landsat 1 in 1972.Music: Bit Streaming, composed by David Edwards [ASCAP], published by Soundcast Music [SESAC] Complete transcript available. || 13329_OLI-2_Ships_still.jpg (1920x1080) [555.8 KB] || 13329_OLI-2_Ships_still_searchweb.png (320x180) [110.3 KB] || 13329_OLI-2_Ships_still_thm.png (80x40) [8.5 KB] || 13329_OLI-2_Ships_large.webm (1920x1080) [19.2 MB] || 13329_OLI-2_Ships_large.mp4 (1920x1080) [217.5 MB] || 13329_OLI-2_ships-captions.en_US.srt [1.4 KB] || 13329_OLI-2_ships-captions.en_US.vtt [1.4 KB] || 13329_OLI-2_Ships_MASTER.mov (1920x1080) [3.5 GB] ||

Landsat satellites have been gathering data for 48 years, equipping scientists and farmers to answer big questions about how to improve agriculture around the world. From tracking crop production, assessing crop health, and monitoring water use, Landsat data provides tangible benefits to the USA and the world. Landsat satellites are built and lauched by NASA, and operated by USGS. Complete transcript available.Music: "Lines of Enquiry" by Theo Golding [PRS], published by Atmosphere Music [PRS]Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || LandsatAg-Thumbnail.png (1920x1080) [4.0 MB] || LandsatAg-Thumbnail_print.jpg (1024x576) [166.3 KB] || LandsatAg-Thumbnail_searchweb.png (320x180) [109.3 KB] || LandsatAg-Thumbnail_thm.png (80x40) [6.6 KB] || LandsatAg-FINAL.mov (1920x1080) [3.2 GB] || LandsatAg-FINAL_youtube_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [148.1 MB] || LandsatAg-FINAL_facebook_720.mp4 (1280x720) [110.9 MB] || LandsatAg-FINAL_twitter_720.mp4 (1280x720) [20.1 MB] || LandsatAg-FINAL.webm (960x540) [39.3 MB] || LandsatAg-FINAL-captions.en_US.srt [1.8 KB] || LandsatAg-FINAL-captions.en_US.vtt [1.8 KB] ||

For half a century, the Landsat mission has shown us Earth from space. Now, come along with us on a ‘roadtrip’ through the decades to see how the technology on this NASA and U.S. Geological Survey partnership has evolved with the times to provide an unbroken data record. Our roadtrip begins with the idea for an Earth-observing sensor in the 1960s and then cruises through the first game-changing launches in the 1970s, the advent of natural color composite images in the 1980s, the increased global coverage in the 1990s, the move to free and open data archives in the 2000s, the modern era of Landsat observations in the 2010s, and now the launch of Landsat 9 in 2021. Landsat satellites have allowed us to better manage our natural resources, and will continue to help people track the effects of climate change into the future.The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Landsat satellites have been consistently gathering data about our planet since 1972. They continue to improve and expand this unparalleled record of Earth's changing landscapes for the benefit of all. ||

Landsat is a critical and invaluable tool for characterizing the landscape and mapping it over time. Landsat data provides a baseline of observations for science about how human activities on the land affect water quality, affect wildlife habitat, affect air quality. The satellite imagery covers the entire 64,000 square miles of the Chesapeake Bay watershed (spanning six states and the District of Columbia). Without it we wouldn't be able to really understand how sources of nutrients and sediment have changed and where they are in the Chesapeake Bay. The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. The narration in this video is by Peter Claggett, a research geographer with the U.S. Geological Survey's Eastern Geographic Science Center. He has worked at the Chesapeake Bay Program Office since 2002, where he leads the Land Data Team that conducts research on land change characterization, analysis, and modeling in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The audio was adapted from a radio interview with EarthSky.org. ||

The Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2) has passed its tests at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and traveled across the country to be integrated onto Landsat 9.Music: Last Outpost by Lennert Busch [PRS], published by Sound Pocket Music [PRS]Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || TIRS-2_shipping_20190813-28_print.jpg (1024x576) [83.4 KB] || TIRS-2_shipping_20190813-28.png (3840x2160) [10.7 MB] || TIRS-2_shipping_20190813-28_searchweb.png (320x180) [82.4 KB] || TIRS-2_shipping_20190813-28_thm.png (80x40) [5.8 KB] || 13292_TIRS-2_Ships_MASTER_V3.mov (1920x1080) [2.6 GB] || 13292_TIRS-2_Ships.mp4 (1920x1080) [160.5 MB] || 13292_TIRS-2_Ships_MASTER_V3_facebook_720.mp4 (1280x720) [91.2 MB] || 13292_TIRS-2_Ships_MASTER_V3.webm (960x540) [33.0 MB] || 13292_TIRS-2_Ships-captions.en_US.srt [1.2 KB] || 13292_TIRS-2_Ships-captions.en_US.vtt [1.2 KB] ||

The U.S. Department of Agriculture tracks how many acres and the annual yield for every crop produced. One method used to estimate crop acreage and yield is remote-sensing data from the NASA-USGS Landsat satellite program. The program started in 1997,with North Dakota, and by 2008 covered the entire lower 48 states and the District of Columbia. Music: "Downloading Landscapes" by Andrew Michael Britton [PRS] and David Stephen Goldsmith [PRS]. Published by Atmosphere Music Ltd [PRS].Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || 13417_Landsat_Croplands_print.jpg (1920x1080) [940.0 KB] || 13417_Landsat_Croplands_print_searchweb.png (180x320) [52.1 KB] || 13417_Landsat_Croplands_print_thm.png (80x40) [4.6 KB] || 13417_Landsat_Croplands.webm (1920x1080) [19.7 MB] || 13417_Landsat_Croplands.mp4 (1920x1080) [292.2 MB] || 13417_Landsat_Croplands-captions.en_US.srt [3.0 KB] || 13417_Landsat_Croplands-captions.en_US.vtt [3.0 KB] || 13417_Landsat_Croplands.mov (1920x1080) [4.8 GB] ||

The long record of Landsat data (since 1972) is helping scientists Sean Healey and Zhiqiang Yang of the Rocky Mountain Research Station (U.S. Forest Service) study the long-term impact of the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. With Landsat data for 8 years before the eruption, and 40 years since, they have calculated the percent tree cover for each year, watching as vegetation grows back.Music: The Waiting Room by Sam Dodson [PRS], published by Atmosphere Music Ltd [PRS]; Inner Strength by Brava [SGAE], Dsilence [SGAE], Input [SGAE] , Output [SGAE], published by El Murmullo Sarao [SGAE], Universal Sarao [SGAE], Some Assembly by Kyle Fredrickson [ASCAP] and Taylor Alexander Locke [BMI], published by Killer Tracks [BMI], Soundcast Music [SESAC], and Light From Dark by Adam Salkeld [PRS] and Neil Pollard [PRS], published by Atmosphere Music Ltd [PRS], all available from Universal Production Music.Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || 13614_Mt_St_Helens_Landsat.png (1920x1080) [4.0 MB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens_print.png (1920x1080) [3.5 MB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens_print_print.jpg (1024x576) [287.9 KB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens_print_searchweb.png (320x180) [106.3 KB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens_print_thm.png (80x40) [7.4 KB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens_prores.mov (1920x1080) [11.9 GB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens_youtube.mp4 (1920x1080) [411.3 MB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens_facebook.mp4 (1920x1080) [354.9 MB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens_twitter.mp4 (1504x846) [139.3 MB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens_youtube.webm (1920x1080) [47.9 MB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens-captions.en_US.srt [8.6 KB] || 13614_Mt_St_Helens-captions.en_US.vtt [8.6 KB] ||

Mark Fahnestock, a scientist with the Geological Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, has assembled annual mosaics of all the glaciers in Alaska and the Yukon using Landsat images going back to 1972. Using these mosaics, Mark is able to study glacier motion and speed.All music published by Atmosphere Music Ltd [PRS]: Inducing Waves, composer Ben Niblett [PRS] Jon Cotton [PRS]; Critical Pathway, composer Rik Carter [PRS]; Emerging Discovery, composer Rik Carter [PRS]Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || 13492_Alaska_Glaciers_mosaic_print.jpg (1920x1080) [1.0 MB] || 13492_Alaska_Glaciers_mosaic_print_searchweb.png (320x180) [135.5 KB] || 13492_Alaska_Glaciers_mosaic_print_thm.png (80x40) [9.0 KB] || 13492_Alaska_Glaciers.mov (1920x1080) [4.3 GB] || 13492_Alaska_Glaciers.mp4 (1920x1080) [516.6 MB] || 13492_Alaska_Glaciers.webm (1920x1080) [38.7 MB] || 13492_Alaska_Glaciers-captions.en_US.srt [5.9 KB] || 13492_Alaska_Glaciers-captions.en_US.vtt [5.9 KB] ||

This visualization shows a sequence of Landsat-based data in the Pacific Northwest. There is one data set for each year representing an aggregate of the approximate peak of the growing season (around August). The data was created using a sophisticated algorithm called LandTrendr. LandTrendr analyzes 'stacks' of Landsat scenes, looking for statistical trends in the data and filtering out noise. The algorithm evaluated data from more than 1,800 Landsat Thematic Mapper images, nearly 1 Terabyte of raw imagery, to define the life histories of each of more than 336 million pixels on the landscape. The resulting trends identify periods of stability and change that are displayed as colors.In these false color images, the colors represent types of land; for example, blue areas are forests; orange/yellow areas are agriculture; and, purple areas are urban. Each 'stack' is representative of a Landsat scene. There are 22 stacks stitched together to cover most of the U.S. Pacific Northwest. This processed data is used for science, natural resource management, and education.The visualization zooms into the Portland area showing different types of land such as agricultural, urban, and forests. We move south to a region that was evergreen forest for a number of years (blue), then was clear cut in 1999 (orange), then began to regrow (yellow). A graph shows the trajectories for a particular location in the clearcut as the years repeat. The dots represent the original data from Landsat; and, the line represents LandTrendr analysis. We move over to the Three Sisters region to show an area of pine forest that becomes infested with bark beetles in 2004. Next, we move to the southern foothills of Mount Hood where a budworm infestation is in progress; around 1991, the worms move on to another area and shrubs start to regrow. Next wemove to the east side of Mount Rainier National Park to see another budworm outbreak followed by shrub regrowth. Finally, we move to the west of Mount Rainier where we can see widespread clear cutting outside of the park, but no clear cutting inside the protected park land.Don't miss this related tour of the region. ||

In 2007, more than 1,100 Landsat 7 images were used to create the first ever, high-resolution, true color map of Antarctica. The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA) is a virtually cloud-free, 3-D view of Antarctica's frozen landscape produced by NASA, working with the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey and the British Antarctic Survey.Visualizers stitched together Landsat 7 satellite imagery acquired in 1999 and 2001 with a digital elevation model and field data measurements. ||