Landsat 9—a partnership between the USGS and NASA—was launched from Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California upon a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 launch vehicle on September 27, 2021.
Learn more: Landsat 9 Mission
Related Content
What sensors does the Landsat 9 satellite carry?
Landsat 9 carries the same instruments that are on the Landsat 8 satellite but with some improvements: Operational Land Imager (OLI) for reflective band data. Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) for the thermal infrared bands. OLI has a slightly improved signal-to-noise ratio over Landsat 8's OLI. Landsat 9’s TIRS is a Class-B instrument with a five-year design life and a key improvement of stray light...
What is the Landsat satellite program and why is it important?
The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. On July 23, 1972, in cooperation with NASA, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1) was launched. It was later renamed Landsat 1. Additional Landsat satellites have launched to bring the world an archive of remote sensing data. Currently orbiting and active...
Are there any restrictions on the use or redistribution of Landsat data?
There are no restrictions on Landsat data downloaded from the USGS; it can be used or redistributed as desired. We do request that you include a statement of the data source when citing, copying, or reprinting USGS Landsat data or images.Details are on the EROS Data Citation page.Learn more: USGS Copyrights and Credits statement
Can Landsat satellite acquisition requests be made for a specific date and location?
The Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 satellites together acquire approximately 1,500 scenes daily. These scenes are available for download within 6 hours of acquisition. Landsat satellite acquisitions are managed as a system, known as a satellite constellation. Long-Term Acquisition Plans (LTAPs) direct and optimize the daily acquisitions of each active Landsat satellite. Special requests for future...
What are the acquisition schedules for the Landsat satellites?
The Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of 705 kilometers (438 miles) in a 185-kilometer (115-mile) swath, moving from north to south over the sunlit side of the Earth in a sun synchronous orbit, following the World Reference System (WRS-2). Each satellite makes a complete orbit every 99 minutes, completes about 14 full orbits each day, and crosses every point on...
How do I search for and download Landsat data?
Landsat data products held in the USGS archives can be searched and downloaded at no charge from a variety of sources. Visit Landsat Data Access for information about how Landsat data products can be downloaded individually or in bulk. Landsat imagery not found in the USGS archive might have been collected by one of the USGS International Cooperator ground stations, each of which are the primary...
After a Landsat scene is collected, when will it become available for search and download?
Landsat scenes directly downlinked to the USGS EROS Landsat Ground Station become available through EarthExplorer within 6 hours after acquisition, and then become visible in GloVis and the LandsatLook Viewer within 24 hours. Scenes downlinked to other USGS Ground Stations can be available within 1 to 2 weeks. Scenes downlinked to International Ground Stations may become available in the USGS...
2019 Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation—Land remote sensing satellite compendium
Landsat 9
Landsat benefiting society for fifty years
Earth as art 5
U.S. Landsat Analysis Ready Data
Landsat Collections
Landsat eyes help guard the world's forests
Landsat helps bolster food security
Landsat plays a key role in reducing hunger on earth
Landsat brings understanding to the impact of industrialization
When wildfire damage threatens humans, Landsat provides answers
Landsat—The watchman that never sleeps
Related Content
- FAQ
What sensors does the Landsat 9 satellite carry?
Landsat 9 carries the same instruments that are on the Landsat 8 satellite but with some improvements: Operational Land Imager (OLI) for reflective band data. Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) for the thermal infrared bands. OLI has a slightly improved signal-to-noise ratio over Landsat 8's OLI. Landsat 9’s TIRS is a Class-B instrument with a five-year design life and a key improvement of stray light...
What is the Landsat satellite program and why is it important?
The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. On July 23, 1972, in cooperation with NASA, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1) was launched. It was later renamed Landsat 1. Additional Landsat satellites have launched to bring the world an archive of remote sensing data. Currently orbiting and active...
Are there any restrictions on the use or redistribution of Landsat data?
There are no restrictions on Landsat data downloaded from the USGS; it can be used or redistributed as desired. We do request that you include a statement of the data source when citing, copying, or reprinting USGS Landsat data or images.Details are on the EROS Data Citation page.Learn more: USGS Copyrights and Credits statement
Can Landsat satellite acquisition requests be made for a specific date and location?
The Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 satellites together acquire approximately 1,500 scenes daily. These scenes are available for download within 6 hours of acquisition. Landsat satellite acquisitions are managed as a system, known as a satellite constellation. Long-Term Acquisition Plans (LTAPs) direct and optimize the daily acquisitions of each active Landsat satellite. Special requests for future...
What are the acquisition schedules for the Landsat satellites?
The Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of 705 kilometers (438 miles) in a 185-kilometer (115-mile) swath, moving from north to south over the sunlit side of the Earth in a sun synchronous orbit, following the World Reference System (WRS-2). Each satellite makes a complete orbit every 99 minutes, completes about 14 full orbits each day, and crosses every point on...
How do I search for and download Landsat data?
Landsat data products held in the USGS archives can be searched and downloaded at no charge from a variety of sources. Visit Landsat Data Access for information about how Landsat data products can be downloaded individually or in bulk. Landsat imagery not found in the USGS archive might have been collected by one of the USGS International Cooperator ground stations, each of which are the primary...
After a Landsat scene is collected, when will it become available for search and download?
Landsat scenes directly downlinked to the USGS EROS Landsat Ground Station become available through EarthExplorer within 6 hours after acquisition, and then become visible in GloVis and the LandsatLook Viewer within 24 hours. Scenes downlinked to other USGS Ground Stations can be available within 1 to 2 weeks. Scenes downlinked to International Ground Stations may become available in the USGS...
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2019 Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation—Land remote sensing satellite compendium
The Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation (JACIE) is a collaboration between five Federal agencies that are major users and producers of satellite land remote sensing data. In recent years, the JACIE group has observed ever-increasing numbers of remote sensing satellites being launched. This rapidly growing wave of new systems creates a need for a single reference for land remote sensing sateAuthorsJon Christopherson, Shankar N. Ramaseri Chandra, Joel Q. QuanbeckLandsat 9
Landsat 9 is a partnership between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey that will continue the Landsat program’s critical role of repeat global observations for monitoring, understanding, and managing Earth’s natural resources. Since 1972, Landsat data have provided a unique resource for those who work in agriculture, geology, forestry, regional planningAuthorsLandsat benefiting society for fifty years
Since 1972, data acquired by the Landsat series of satellites have become integral to land management for both government and the private sector, providing scientists and decision makers with key information about agricultural productivity, ice sheet dynamics, urban growth, forest monitoring, natural resource management, water quality, and supporting disaster response. Landsat 9 continues the missAuthorsLaura E. P. Rocchio, Peggy Connot, Steve Young, Kate Ramsayer, Linda Owen, Michelle Bouchard, Christopher BarnesEarth as art 5
Fanciful Fluorescence. Lurking Madness. Serene Expressions.The titles of the images in this fifth edition of Earth As Art speak to the powerfully artistic qualities of Earth’s natural features when tinged with unnatural colors.Art serves as a great partner in the communication of science, bringing emotion to the pursuit of understanding. The pieces in this collection look like abstract art but areAuthorsU.S. Landsat Analysis Ready Data
U.S. Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) are a revolutionary new U.S. Geological Survey science product that allows the Landsat archive to be more accessible and easier to analyze and reduces the amount of time users spend on data processing for monitoring and assessing landscape change. U.S. Landsat ARD are Level-2 products derived from Landsat Collections Level-1 precision and terrain-corrected scAuthorsLandsat Collections
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey reorganized the Landsat archive into a tiered collection structure, which ensures that Landsat Level-1 products provide a consistent archive of known data quality to support time-series analyses and data “stacking” while controlling continuous improvement of the archive and access to all data as they are acquired. Landsat Collection 1 required the reprocessing oAuthorsLandsat eyes help guard the world's forests
SummaryThe Landsat program is a joint effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), but the partner agencies have distinct roles. NASA develops remote-sensing instruments and spacecraft, launches satellites, and validates their performance in orbit. The USGS owns and operates Landsat satellites in space and manages their data transmiAuthorsJon CampbellLandsat helps bolster food security
One of the cruelest, most complex narratives in the world today (2019) is written in the hunger of sub-Saharan Africa. When famine is the only yield from the scorched Earth, survival often depends on a heart-rending calculation—how far is the distant feeding center and how close is the nearest well?AuthorsLandsat plays a key role in reducing hunger on earth
The United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs predicts 9.7 billion people will sit down every day to the global dinner table by 2050. If this prediction is correct, the world is going to need more crops, more livestock, and more efficient and sustainable agricultural practices.AuthorsLandsat brings understanding to the impact of industrialization
In his 1963 book, “The Quiet Crisis,” former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall lamented what he called the decline of natural resources in the United States under the advancements of industrialization and urbanization.AuthorsWhen wildfire damage threatens humans, Landsat provides answers
A wildfire’s devastation of forest and rangeland seldom ends when the last embers die. In the western United States, rain on a scorched mountainside can turn ash into mudslides. Debris flows unleashed by rainstorms can put nearby homes into harm’s way and send people scrambling for safety. The infrared capabilities of Landsat satellite imagery provide vita information about potential dangers afterAuthorsSteven YoungLandsat—The watchman that never sleeps
In western North America, where infestations of mountain pine beetles continue to ravage thousands of acres of forest lands, Landsat satellites bear witness to the onslaught in a way that neither humans nor most other satellites can see.AuthorsSteven Young - News