LANDSAT Program UpdateTim NewmanUSGS Land Remote Sensing Program Coordinator

National Geospatial Advisory Committee MeetingNational Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV September 4-5, 2013

Landsat Program StatusLandsat 8• USGS assumed possession of the satellite from NASA on 05/30/13• Collecting approximately 500 new scenes every day• Well over 400,000 L8 scenes distributed to date (>4000 per day)• New capabilities proving very popular:

• 8-10 time improvement in signal-to-noise ratio• 12-bit quantization• New coastal blue band (detection of water column constituents)• New cirrus band (better cloud screening)• Additional thermal band (more precise temperature measurements)

Landsat 7• Still obtaining seasonal global coverage with excellent image data• About 22% of pixels are missing per scene due to faulty scan-line corrector• Sufficient fuel remains for operation for 3-4 more years

Landsat 5• Final image was acquired 01/08/13; decommissioning began 01/15/13• After fuel was depleted, final shut-down command was uplinked 06/05/13 • Satellite is now well below 705 km Landsat operational altitude• Will re-enter atmosphere and burn up in approximately 21 years Landsat 9 and Beyond• USGS is working closely with NASA on a long-term plan

• 2014 President’s Budget proposes $20M for NASA to derive a plan, in cooperation with USGS, for sustained global land imaging for 20 years beyond the design life of Landsat 8 (2018)• Plan will be used to inform next budget cycle – due mid-2014• NASA/USGS planning group established and holding regular meetings

• Industry & Partner Day scheduled for September 18 at NASA HQ (registration required)

• Plan to include options to maintain continuity, avoid data gaps, develop technology• Baseline system requirements continue global data acquisition, maintain quality of

current Landsat 8 products• Will continue strong NASA-USGS relationship in future systems

• USGS to verify Landsat user community’s basic data requirements • NASA to design, procure and launch government-owned space assets • USGS to operate ground systems; archive, process, and distribute land imaging data; and

develop science and applications

Sustainable Land Imaging Architecture Study

09.03.2013-NGAC – 3