WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:14.948 --> 00:00:18.518 Landsat archives, its 9 millionth scene. 2 00:00:19.185 --> 00:00:21.721 Each scene is a satellite image from space 3 00:00:21.755 --> 00:00:24.591 about 115 miles wide. 4 00:00:25.091 --> 00:00:28.194 Researchers and, well, just about anyone can download 5 00:00:28.194 --> 00:00:31.531 scenes from the Landsat archive managed by USGS. 6 00:00:32.198 --> 00:00:34.701 Landsat holds the title for the longest continuous 7 00:00:34.768 --> 00:00:37.270 space-based record of Earth in existence. 8 00:00:38.705 --> 00:00:42.709 That's 50 years of scenes like these, helping scientists 9 00:00:42.709 --> 00:00:45.879 and researchers understand how our planet is changing over 10 00:00:45.879 --> 00:00:46.846 time. 11 00:00:49.449 --> 00:00:50.383 It will take Landsat 12 00:00:50.383 --> 00:00:53.920 9 and its sister satellite. Landsat 8. 13 00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:57.323 8 days to image all of Earth's land and coastal areas. 14 00:00:58.024 --> 00:01:00.460 That means we get a complete picture of Earth 15 00:01:00.460 --> 00:01:02.662 every eight days. 16 00:01:04.264 --> 00:01:05.398 In this case, two 17 00:01:05.398 --> 00:01:08.468 satellites are better than one. 18 00:01:08.468 --> 00:01:13.740 Landsats 8 and 9 can work together to provide 19 00:01:13.740 --> 00:01:18.244 near real time data about what's happening on the surface of our planet. 20 00:01:23.850 --> 00:01:24.784 Landsat collects 21 00:01:24.784 --> 00:01:28.121 images of each of our planet's seven continents. 22 00:01:28.121 --> 00:01:31.991 Farms, forests, waterways, glaciers, 23 00:01:31.991 --> 00:01:34.527 urban areas, Landsat sees it all. 24 00:01:36.096 --> 00:01:37.630 Remember, you can't manage 25 00:01:37.630 --> 00:01:41.668 what you can't measure, whether it's deforestation in the Amazon 26 00:01:42.068 --> 00:01:44.671 or ice loss in Antarctica, 27 00:01:44.671 --> 00:01:48.641 or urban sprawl in Shanghai. 28 00:01:52.011 --> 00:01:53.513 Fire engine 29 00:01:53.813 --> 00:01:54.981 liftoff 30 00:01:55.682 --> 00:01:59.819 time 1756, we have liftoff. 31 00:01:59.819 --> 00:02:03.223 Landsat 6 launched on October fifth, 1993. 32 00:02:03.890 --> 00:02:08.261 Apogee kick motor should ignite right now and take Landsat 33 00:02:08.261 --> 00:02:11.531 to its final circular orbit-- but it never made it to orbit. 34 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:14.567 NASA's team of scientists and engineers 35 00:02:14.567 --> 00:02:17.403 got to work immediately to figure out what went wrong. 36 00:02:18.037 --> 00:02:20.940 Turns out it was a rupture in the rocket fuel chamber. 37 00:02:21.741 --> 00:02:24.744 They used failure as an opportunity to learn. 38 00:02:24.744 --> 00:02:27.680 Six years later, the team launched Landsat 7. 39 00:02:27.780 --> 00:02:30.950 Liftoff of the Delta II rocket with the advanced... 40 00:02:30.984 --> 00:02:31.684 One of the most 41 00:02:31.684 --> 00:02:35.855 technologically advanced Earth observing satellites of its generation 42 00:02:35.855 --> 00:02:37.757 still in use today. 43 00:02:41.761 --> 00:02:42.662 At least one 44 00:02:42.662 --> 00:02:46.232 Landsat satellite has been orbiting Earth since 1972. 45 00:02:46.766 --> 00:02:49.969 That's nearly 50 years of steadfast observation. 46 00:02:50.904 --> 00:02:53.039 That first Landsat proved we could gather 47 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:55.275 digitally encoded data from space. 48 00:02:56.876 --> 00:02:58.578 And changed the way we look at Earth 49 00:02:58.578 --> 00:02:59.712 forever. 50 00:03:08.421 --> 00:03:09.122 Never before 51 00:03:09.122 --> 00:03:13.026 seen snapshots of land resources and the environment would be key 52 00:03:13.026 --> 00:03:16.696 for critical decision making decades into the future. 53 00:03:21.067 --> 00:03:24.070 Landsat collects light. 54 00:03:24.070 --> 00:03:27.207 How intense that light is tells us about what's on the ground. 55 00:03:27.207 --> 00:03:31.277 You can think of intensity like shades of a different color. 56 00:03:31.277 --> 00:03:34.314 Landsat 9, the newest satellite to join the Landsat 57 00:03:34.314 --> 00:03:38.451 fleet, sees 16,384 shades. 58 00:03:39.152 --> 00:03:42.222 That's four times the depth of color of the previous Landsat, 59 00:03:43.089 --> 00:03:46.259 meaning we'll be able to see more detail in darker spots 60 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:49.262 like coastal waters and dense forests. 61 00:03:53.499 --> 00:03:54.100 True color 62 00:03:54.100 --> 00:03:58.171 images are made by combining red, blue and green light. 63 00:03:58.605 --> 00:04:02.709 Combined together, these visible bands of light make up all the colors 64 00:04:02.709 --> 00:04:06.312 in the rainbow and all of Landsat's true color images. 65 00:04:07.247 --> 00:04:10.516 Landsat also captures light that we can't see. 66 00:04:10.516 --> 00:04:13.319 That type of light can reveal some incredible things 67 00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:17.390 when you look at a false color image, like the difference between types of plants, 68 00:04:17.390 --> 00:04:21.394 how healthy those plants are, healthy coral reefs and even dead coral reefs. 69 00:04:21.427 --> 00:04:26.966 Fire tracking, ocean pollution, the possibilities are nearly endless. 70 00:04:31.037 --> 00:04:33.873 There are two instruments aboard Landsat 9. 71 00:04:33.873 --> 00:04:36.943 OLI-2 is all about light. 72 00:04:38.044 --> 00:04:40.280 Once in orbit, OLI-2 collects 73 00:04:40.280 --> 00:04:43.416 sunlight reflected off Earth's surface. 74 00:04:44.317 --> 00:04:47.420 The light passes through a set of filters to separate out nine 75 00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:52.058 specific wavelength bands in visible and infrared frequencies. 76 00:04:52.425 --> 00:04:55.461 Each band provides different pieces of information 77 00:04:55.461 --> 00:04:58.698 about what is down on the surface. 78 00:04:58.698 --> 00:05:03.336 The second instrument aboard Landsat 9 called TIRS-2. collects thermal 79 00:05:03.336 --> 00:05:06.372 infrared wavelengths, or temperature signatures 80 00:05:06.372 --> 00:05:09.809 emitted by the Earth itself. 81 00:05:13.880 --> 00:05:15.448 50 years ago. the U.S. 82 00:05:15.448 --> 00:05:18.318 Geological Survey had an idea. 83 00:05:18.318 --> 00:05:20.353 Satellites orbiting Earth that could help us 84 00:05:20.353 --> 00:05:22.822 monitor our natural resources. 85 00:05:23.589 --> 00:05:26.659 Today, the Landsat program is jointly managed 86 00:05:26.659 --> 00:05:30.730 by NASA and the USGS, providing an unparalleled record 87 00:05:30.730 --> 00:05:34.200 of Earth's changing landscapes for the benefit of all. 88 00:05:35.068 --> 00:05:37.837 50 years of satellites. 89 00:05:38.571 --> 00:05:40.840 50 years of life changing data. 90 00:05:43.643 --> 00:05:46.112 one legacy continued with Landsat 9.