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Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. 

Click on an episode title below to visit the episode page. Episode pages include related content, transcript access, and full episode credits.

Search the podcast archive by topic here.

The Eyes on Earth podcast is currently hosted by Tom Adamson, Jane Lawson, and Sheri Levisay (contractors for USGS EROS). Episodes are produced by Tom Adamson. Past hosts include John Hult and Steve Young (contractors for USGS EROS). Past producers include John Hult and Brian Hauge (contractors for USGS EROS). 

Latest Episodes

Episode 94 – EROS 50th: Collaborations with SDSU

Release date: Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Tall man stands next to woman in the bright EROS atrium
Dennis Helder and Mary O'Neill 

South Dakota State University opened its Remote Sensing Institute even before the launch of Landsat 1 and the selection of South Dakota as the location for EROS. In this episode, we talk about some of the collaborations that SDSU and EROS have both benefited from, including research projects centered on Landsat and other data sources, instrument calibration and validation, and trainings, presentations and workshops. SDSU faculty and EROS staff have ventured back and forth, and SDSU students have worked as interns and found employment at EROS.  

Guests: Mary O’Neill, former program manager of SDSU’s Office of Remote Sensing and outgoing AmericaView board director, and Dennis Helder, founder of SDSU’s Image Processing Lab, former head of the Electrical Engineering Department and current part-time technical adviser and contractor at EROS

 

Episode 93 – EROS 50th: Film Scanning

Release date: Monday, April 3, 2023
Two men sitting and posing in an office setting
Tim Smith (left) and Mike Austad (right).

Working with film has always been part of EROS’ 50-year history. How did EROS end up with an extensive film archive, and how are we making that data available to users? In this episode, we talk about the custom scanners built in-house from discarded parts to digitally capture historical aerial photos and declassified spy satellite images. These Phoenix systems have scanned millions of images and still have a lot of work to do.

Guests: Tim Smith and Mike Austad (contractors for USGS EROS)

Episode 92 – EROS 50th: The Library and Science Support

Release date: Monday, March 20, 2023
Logo with background of woman standing in front of large globe taller than her
Carol Deering.

The Don Lee Kulow Library has been supporting scientific research at EROS since before the facility opened its doors in 1973. In this episode of Eyes on Earth, librarian Carol Deering explains how, rather than becoming obsolete with the advent of instant access to online journals, libraries are even more crucial for the discovery of previous studies and for gauging the reach and real-world effects of research done by EROS scientists. She also talks about the history of EROS and describes a one-time quest for documents that stretched from UC Berkeley to the Library of Congress to Australia and Kenya.

Guest: Carol Deering, contractor and librarian at the Don Lee Kulow Memorial Library at EROS

Episode 91 – Intro to AmericaView

Release date: Monday, March 6, 2023
Logo with four mugshots on colorful satellite image background
Clockwise from top left: Chris McGinty, Lisa Wirth, J.C. Seong, Sal Cook.

AmericaView aims to advance Earth observation education through a network of programs based at universities in more than 40 states. In this episode, we talk about AmericaView’s goals and how AmericaView and its member states explain remote sensing efforts to society in a variety of ways, including outreach to students who range from elementary to graduate school. We also give examples of the organization’s remote sensing research and describe AmericaView’s ties with the USGS and with Landsat.

Guests: Chris McGinty, Executive Director of AmericaView; Lisa Wirth, Program Director of AmericaView; Sal Cook, USGS Program Liaison for the AmericaView Grant; J.C. Seong, Principal Investigator of GeorgiaView

Episode 90 – Landsat 8 Turns 10

Release date: Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Logo with mugshot overlaying illustration of satellite above Earth
Keith Alberts.

Originally called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, Landsat 8 launched on February 11, 2013. In this episode of Eyes on Earth, we talk about the 10th anniversary of Landsat 8 being in orbit and its value to the remote sensing community. While we cannot predict the future, it does look promising that Landsat 8 can sustain that continuity for more years to come.

Guest: Keith Alberts, Acting Landsat Flight Operations Project Manager, EROS

Episode 89 – EROS Workers and Weather

Release date: Monday, February 6, 2023
Logo on photo of two guys standing in front of a snow-covered area with a radome in the background
Aaron Hensley (left) and Joe Blahovec (right).

When the snow gets deep and the wind blows, it can be challenging for workers to travel to the USGS EROS Center, located several miles north of Sioux Falls, SD, on what used to be farmland. Most can telecommute these days, but in this episode of Eyes on Earth, we discover how essential employees ensure there is in-person continuous monitoring of Landsat ground station operations during winter weather—sometimes even requiring an overnight stay.

Guests: Joe Blahovec, chief of the Satellite and Ground Systems Operations Branch (SGO), and Aaron Hensley, ground station shiftlead, Critical Mission Support Staff, KBR

 

Episode 88 – Landsat 5’s Significance, Part 2

Release date: Monday, January 23, 2023
Logo with satellite image background and two mugshots
Steve Covington (top) and Jeff Devine (bottom).

Designed to last three years, Landsat 5 launched in 1984 and transmitted data until the launch of Landsat 8 in 2013. In this episode, we learn about some of the challenges—and adrenaline rushes—Landsat 5 gave the flight operations team as it aged, as well as the fondness our two guests came to have for the satellite’s unique personality and the whole team as they served on it during the satellite’s twilight years. In October 2022, the Flight Operations Team won the 2020 Group Pecora Award during the 22nd William T. Pecora Memorial Remote Sensing Symposium.

Guests: Steve Covington, former Landsat 5 flight manager, now Aerospace Corp. contractor serving as the principal systems engineer for the USGS National Land Imaging Program; and Jeff Devine, former Landsat 5 lead operations engineer, now KBR contractor leading the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Flight Operations Team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

 

Episode 87 – Landsat 5's Significance, Part 1

Release date: Monday, January 9, 2023
Logo with a background satellite image and two mugshots on the left
Steve Covington (top) and Jeff Devine (bottom). Landsat 5 image of Chernobyl shortly after the 1986 accident.

Summary: Designed to last three years, Landsat 5 launched in 1984 and transmitted data until the launch of Landsat 8 in 2013. In this episode, we learn about the significance of this satellite, which set a Guinness World Record for “Longest Operating Earth Observation Satellite.” Our two guests served on the flight operations team in the satellite’s twilight years and describe its importance to the unbroken record of Landsat data. They also share their personal connections with the satellite—including a journey from watching the launch on a monitor at EROS to eventually leading the team.

Guests: Steve Covington, former Landsat 5 flight manager, now Aerospace Corp. contractor serving as the principal systems engineer for the USGS National Land Imaging Program; and Jeff Devine, former Landsat 5 lead operations engineer, now KBR contractor leading the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Flight Operations Team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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