LANDSAT

INTRODUCTION On July 23, 1972 the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched.

This was eventually renamed to Landsat.

The most recent, Landsat 8, was launched on February 11, 2013. The instruments on the Landsat satellites have acquired millions of images.

Landsat satellites have been collecting images of the Earth's surface for more than thirty years.

Instruments onboard the satellites have acquired millions of images of the Earth.

These images provide a unique resource for people who work in agriculture, geology, forestry, regional planning, education, mapping, and global change research

IMAGING BY LANDSAT

Landsat data provides a high spatial and spectral resolution imagery set useful for:

Estimation of snow cover extent expressed as fraction per pixel,

Estimation of tree canopy cover,

Other geophysical and vegetation parameters.

TIROS The Television Infrared Observation Satellite Program (TIROS)

The TIROS Program (Television Infrared Observation Satellite) was NASA's first experimental step to determine if satellites could be useful in the study of the Earth.

The TIROS Program's first priority was the development of a meteorological satellite information system. Weather forecasting was deemed the most promising application of space-based observations.

TIROS proved extremely successful, providing the first accurate weather forecasts based on data gathered from space. TIROS began continuous coverage of the Earth's weather in 1962, and was used by meteorologists worldwide.

SATELLITE CHRONOLOGY

Instrument Launched Terminated Duration Notes

Landsat 1 July 23, 1972 January 6, 19782 years, 11 months and

15 daysOriginally named Earth Resources

Technology Satellite 1.

Landsat 2 January 22, 1975 February 25, 19822 years, 10 months and

17 daysNearly identical copy of Landsat 1

Landsat 3 March 5, 1978 March 31, 1983 5 years and 26 daysNearly identical copy of Landsat 1

and Landsat 2

Landsat 4 July 16, 1982 December 14, 199311 years, 4 months and

28 days

Landsat 5 March 1, 1984 June 5, 201329 years, 3 months and

4 days

Nearly identical copy of Landsat 4. Longest Earth-observing satellite

mission in history.

Landsat 6 October 5, 1993 October 5, 1993 0 days Failed to reach orbit.

Landsat 7 April 15, 1999 Still active15 years, 9 months and

19 daysOperating with scan line corrector

disabled since May 2003.

Landsat 8 February 11, 2013 Still active1 year, 11 months and

23 days

Originally named Landsat Data Continuity Mission from launch until

May 30, 2013, when NASA operations were turned over to

USGS.

TIMELINE

LANDSAT- FIRST SERIES The first three satellites were identical and their payloads consisted of two

optical instruments, a multispectral sensor (MultiSpectral Scanner or MSS)and a series of video cameras (Return Beam Vidicons or RBVs).

altitude: 907-915 km inclination: 99.2 degreesorbit: sun-synchronous polarorbit period: 103 minutesrevisit time: 18 days

CONTD… RBV sensors

The payloads of the first two satellites included a series of three video cameras that took pictures in the visible and infrared bands. The resolution was 80m for 185 x 185km images. The resolution of the images acquired by Landsat 3 was raised to 40m, but the cameras took images in a single panchromatic spectral band (0.5-0.75µm) only.

MSS sensorsThese mechanical sensors collected information in four spectral bands and over a 185 x 185km area. Since this instrument was developed after the three RBV cameras, these bands were numbered from 4 to 7. Landsat 3’s multispectral scanner included an additional spectral band in the thermal infrared band.

satellites :

LANDSAT 1

(23/07/1972 - 06/01/1978)

  LANDSAT 2 (22/01/1975 - 05/02/1982)  LANDSAT 3 (05/03/1978 - 31/03/1983)

CONTD…Band Spectral band Resolution

4 0,5 - 0,6 µm 79 m x 82 m

5 0,6 - 0,7 µm 79 m x 82 m

6 0,7 - 0,8 µm 79 m x 82 m

7 0,8 - 1,1 µm 79 m x 82 m

8 10,5 - 12,4 µm240 m x 240 m (LANDSAT

3 only)

SECOND SERIES The next two satellites (LANDSAT 4 and 5) were equipped with two

mutispectral sensors, i.e., a multispectral scanner (MSS) and a Thematic Mapper (TM).

altitude: 705 km inclination: 98.2 degreesorbit: sun-synchronous polarorbit period: 98.9 minutesrevisit time: 16 days

satellites :

LANDSAT 4

(16/07/1982 – 07/1987)

 LANDSAT 5

(01/03/1985 – operational)

CONTD… MSS sensors

These scanners were identical to those on the first two Landsat satellites. The only difference was that the four spectral bands were numbered from 1 to 4 since the RBVs were no longer used. Landsat 5’s MSS stopped acquiring data in 1992.

Band

Spectral band

Resolution Use

1 0,5 - 0,6 µm 79 m x 82 m Coastal zones, marine sediments

2 0,6 - 0,7 µm 79 m x 82 m Roads and urban areas

3 0,7 - 0,8 µm 79 m x 82 mPlant studies and mapping of earth/water boundaries

4 0,8 - 1,1 µm 79 m x 82 mPlant studies and mapping of earth/water boundaries

CONTD… TM sensors

These high-resolution scanners have seven spectral bands and always cover a 185 x 185 km area.

Band

Spectral band Resolution Use

1 0,45 - 0,52 µm 30 m x 30 mGround/plants differentiation, coastal zones

2 0,52 - 0,60 µm 30 m x 30 mVegetation3 0,63 - 0,69 µm 30 m x 30 mPlant species differentiation4 0,76 - 0,90 30 m x 30 mBiomass5 1,55 - 1,75 µm 30 m x 30 mSnow/cloud differentiation6 10,4 - 12,5 µm 120 x 120 mThermal7 2,08 - 2,35 µm 30 m x 30 mLithology

THIRD SERIES The last generation of Landsat satellites started with a failure, for Landsat 6

was lost just after its launch on 3 October 1993.

Landsat 7 was launched in 1999 and is equipped with a mutispectral sensor known as the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus or ETM+.

altitude: 705 km inclination: 98.2 degreesorbit: sun-synchronous polarorbit period: 98.9 minutesrevisit time: 16 days

satellites :

LANDSAT 6

(03/10/1993 – 03/10/1993)

 LANDSAT 7

(15/04/1999 – still operational)

CONTD… ETM+ sensor

As its name indicates, this scanner is an enhanced version of the previous TMs. It now has a high-resolution panchromatic wide band.

Band Spectral band Resolution Use

1 0,45 - 0,515 µm30 m x 30 mGround/plant differentiation,coastal zones

2 0,525 - 0,605 30 m x 30 m Vegetation3 0,63 - 0,69 µm 30 m x 30 m Differentiate plant species4 0,75 - 0,90 µm 30 m x 30 m Biomass5 1,55 - 1,75 µm 30 m x 30 m Snow/cloud differentiation6 10,4 - 12,5 µm 60 m x 60 m Thermal7 2,09 - 2,35 µm 30 m x 30 m LithologyPAN 0,50 - 0,90 µm 15 m x 15 m

LANDSAT 8 The Landsat 8 satellite images the entire Earth every 16 days in an 8-day

offset from Landsat 7.

Data collected by the instruments onboard the satellite are available to download at no charge from GloVis, EarthExplorer, or via the LandsatLook Viewer within 24 hours of reception.

Processing: Level 1 T- Terrain Corrected

Pixel Size:

OLI multispectral bands 1-7,9: 30-metersOLI panchromatic band 8: 15-metersTIRS bands 10-11: collected at 100 meters but resampledto 30 meters to match OLI multispectral bands

Data Characteristics:

GeoTIFF data format

Cubic Convolution (CC) resampling

North Up (MAP) orientation

Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection (Polar Stereographic projection for scenes with a center latitude greater than or equal to -63.0 degrees)

World Geodetic System (WGS) 84 datum

12 meter circular error, 90% confidence global accuracy for OLI

41 meter circular error, 90% confidence global accuracy for TIRS

16-bit pixel values