National Land Imaging Program
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Our Nation’s economic security and environmental vitality rely on continuous monitoring of the Earth’s continents, islands, and coastal regions in order to record, study, and understand land change at local, regional, and global scales. The USGS National Land Imaging (NLI) Program helps meet this need.
Image of the Week
A 1.1-mile-long, 509-foot-tall concrete dam spanning the Blue Nile River is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa. Landsat satellites have tracked the project over the last decade.
HydropowerLandsat 9 Road to Launch
Launching in 2021, Landsat 9 is a partnership between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Learn about the process of building Landsat 9 and how it will extend Landsat's unbroken record of our planet to over half a century.
Road to LaunchMore to Explore
Follow these links to learn more about our remote sensing research partnerships, how to access and download data, our image collections, news articles, and more.
National Land Imaging Program Fact Sheet
Landsat Benefits, State By State
2020 Remote Sensing Satellite Compendium
Landsat's LegacyNews
Landsat Update June 2021
Landsat Updates are prepared periodically and distributed electronically to provide information about Landsat activities and related topics of interest.
Keeping an Eye on Vulnerable Coastal Wetlands
Coastlines can have it pretty rough. Even a beach isn’t always sunshine. Wind and water constantly wear at its edges—and then there are the storms.
New Report Explains Landsat’s Role as ‘Gold Standard’ for Calibration
Landsat data have long been recognized for the quality and reliability of their calibration. A recent report puts a spotlight on that commitment to accuracy.
Publications
System characterization of Earth observation sensors
This U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report provides information from assessments of Earth observation sensors completed by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Cal/Val Center of Excellence. These reports are provided as independent measures of basic system performance by the Earth Resources Observation and Science...
Ramaseri Chandra, Shankar N.
System characterization report on the WorldView-3 Imager
Executive SummaryThis report addresses system characterization of the Maxar WorldView-3 satellite and is part of a series of system characterization reports produced and delivered by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Cal/Val Center of Excellence in 2020. These reports present and detail the methodology and...
Cantrell, Simon J.; Christopherson, Jon B.; Anderson, Cody; Stensaas, Gregory L.; Ramaseri Chandra, Shankar N.; Kim, Minsu; Park, Seonkyung
System characterization report on the Gaofen-1
Executive SummaryThis report addresses system characterization of Gaofen-1 and is part of a series of system characterization reports produced and delivered by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Cal/Val Center of Excellence in 2020. These reports present the detail methodology and procedures for characterization;...
Shrestha, Mahesh; Sampath, Aparajithan; Ramaseri Chandra, Shankar N.; Christopherson, Jon B.; Shaw, Jerad; Stensaas, Gregory L.; Anderson, Cody