Volume 11 Issue 4 - August 2017
Back to Landsat Updates
Landsat Collection 1 Level-1 Reminder/Status
Landsat 9 Mission Status
A New Look for GloVis
New Functionality added to ESPA Interface
Landsat Science Team Meeting Held
Upcoming Meetings of Interest and User Conferences
Recently Promoted Landsat Images
Connect/Interact/Contact
Landsat Collection 1 Level-1 Reminder/Status
Landsat 4-5 TM, Landsat 7 ETM+, and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS Pre-Collection datasets will be removed from EarthExplorer onOctober 1, 2017. Users are strongly encouraged to transition to Landsat Collection 1 data. Users downloading Pre-Collection data until October 1 may also experience longer than expected download times.
Landsat Collection 1 data for Landsat 4-5 Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI)/Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) have completed processing and are available for download from EarthExplorer.
Landsat 1-5 Multispectral Scanner (MSS) data will be processed into the Collection 1 Level-1 inventory after data quality analysis and processing level investigations have been completed, which is anticipated to occur by December 2017. The Landsat 1-5 MSS “Pre-Collection” dataset will remain available on EarthExplorer until the dataset is processed into the Collection 1 archive structure.
Please visit the Landsat Collections webpage for details on the Collection 1 effort.
Landsat 9 Mission Status
A successful Landsat 9 Spacecraft Preliminary Design Review was held from July 18–20 in Gilbert, Arizona at the Orbital ATK facility. NASA concluded that the Landsat 9 spacecraft is on track and meeting all of the system and schedule requirements needed for the mission’s planned Dec. 2020 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Development of the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) and Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) instruments continues as well, and both are on target for integration with the Landsat 9 spacecraft in mid-2019. The instruments are rebuilds of those onboard Landsat 8; however, TIRS-2 has improved stray light performance through improved telescope baffling and improved position encoder for the scene select mechanism, issues both experienced on the Landsat 8 TIRS instrument.
The Landsat 9 ground system and Mission Operations Center (MOC) are progressing through their respective milestones successfully.
Upcoming Landsat 9 milestones:
September 12-14, 2017: Landsat 9 Mission Preliminary Design Review
This continuation of the Landsat Program will enable USGS and NASA to help the world observe, understand, and manage natural systems by archiving long-term records of the Earth’s surface.
A New Look for GloVis
The USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis), has long been considered one of the best options for rapid search and access to remote sensing data. The redesigned GloVis continues the spirit of the previous “Classic” version by providing a simple, interactive method for locating and downloading imagery. It also includes many new features, including browse image visualization at up to full resolution, co-discovery of multiple datasets, improved browser support, and enhanced viewer capabilities. Additional features are planned for future releases.
A guided walkthrough of the site’s basic features is available, and users are also encouraged to submit feedback about the functionality.
New Functionality added to ESPA Interface
EROS Science Processing Architecture (ESPA) users now have the ability to cancel orders. This option is located on each order status page on the ESPA on-demand interface or via an http PUT method through the ESPA API. More details can be found in the ESPA On-demand User Guide.
Landsat Science Team Meeting Held
The Landsat Science Team held their summer meeting in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in July. Meeting objectives included identifying priorities for future Landsat measurements and technologies; reviewing team member research and applications activities; and celebrating the contributions of the team. Presentations from the meeting are available on the Landsat Science Team webpage.
This was the final assembly of the 2012-2017 Landsat Science Team. USGS and NASA officials are currently reviewing responses to the request for proposals for membership on the 2018-2023 team. Successful applicants will be notified this upcoming fall, and an announcement will be made on the USGS Landsat Missions website.
Upcoming Meetings of Interest and User Conferences
Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation (JACIE) Workshop
September 19-21, 2017 Reston, VA
31st Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Plenary
October 18-20, 2017 Rapid City, SD
Geological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting
October 22-25, 2017 Seattle, WA
Pecora 20 Conference
November 14-16, 2017 Sioux Falls, SD
Established by the USGS and NASA in the 1970's, the Pecora meetings serve as a forum to foster the exchange of scientific information and results derived from applications of Earth-observing data to a broad range of land-based resources, and to discuss ideas, policies, and strategies concerning land remote sensing.
In association with the Pecora conference, the William T. Pecora Award is presented annually to individuals or groups that have made outstanding contributions toward understanding the Earth by means of remote sensing. The Department of the Interior (DOI) and NASA jointly sponsor the award.
American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting
December 11-15, 2017 New Orleans, LA
Recently Promoted Landsat Images
Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, Erupted 26 Years Ago. Landsat imagery compares the now-quiet mountain with how the land around it looked shortly after its violent eruption in June 1991.
7 Million Scenes and Counting! In June 2017, the Landsat archive topped over 7 million scenes available for download.
Fires in the Western United States. Landsat 8 images of four fires burning in June and July 2017 are shown.
Iceberg Separates from Larsen C Ice Shelf. In July 2017, a rift in the Larsen C Ice Shelf broke through to the Weddell Sea and formed a new iceberg.
Batagaika Crater and the Megaslump. Permafrost thawing has caused changes to Russian’s Siberian tundra.
Fire in Greenland. A wildfire can be seen burning in Western Greenland in August 2017.