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Landsat Missions

Since 1972, Landsat satellites have continuously acquired images of the Earth’s land surface, providing uninterrupted data to help land managers and policymakers make informed decisions about natural resources and the environment. Data acquired by Landsat satellites are distributed from the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Project Information

There is a wealth of technical information and statistics about the Landsat Project, Landsat data, and Landsat science products. Statistics about Landsat data availability, distribution and usage are updated quarterly.

 

News about Landsat

Find the latest news about Landsat missions, data products, data access, and related topics. 

 

Landsat Products and Data Access

Landsat data products are continually being matured into the highest quality possible. These products allow scientists to provide improved and more useful results for land change and use analysis. Landsat data products held in the USGS archives can be searched and downloaded at no charge from a variety of data portals. 

 

Useful Tools & Viewers

Various files, tools, converters, and information to better understand Landsat acquisition and how to search for Landsat data and products.

 

International Collaboration

Landsat has always been an important component of U.S. foreign policy, science, and technology policy. A longstanding network of International Cooperators operate numerous International Ground Stations allowing direct reception and downlink from Landsat satellites. In 2010, International Cooperators started the effort to consolidate Landsat data acquired at worldwide ground station to the USGS archive.

 

Education and Outreach Resources

Landsat education and outreach resources can be used by students, teachers and the general public to further understand the fundamentals of remote sensing, Landsat technology, and how practical applications of Landsat data are helping specialists manage Earth's natural resources for a growing world population.

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News

Landsat’s 12 Millionth Image Showcases Distinct Landscapes

Landsat’s 12 Millionth Image Showcases Distinct Landscapes

Latest in Landsat January 2025 - Vol. 4 | Issue 1

POSTPONED: Interruption to USGS EROS Product Distribution Jan 10-12, 2025

POSTPONED: Interruption to USGS EROS Product Distribution Jan 10-12, 2025

Publications

ECCOE Landsat quarterly Calibration and Validation report—Quarter 2, 2024

Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat...
Authors
Md Obaidul Haque, Md Nahid Hasan, Ashish Shrestha, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, Mark Lubke, Jerad L. Shaw, Kathryn Ruslander, Esad Micijevic, Michael J. Choate, Cody Anderson, Jeff Clauson, Kurt Thome, Ed Kaita, Raviv Levy, Jeff Miller, Leibo Ding

Detecting trajectories of regime shifts and loss of resilience in coastal wetlands using remote sensing

Many freshwater forested wetlands along the southeastern United States coastline are rapidly transitioning from forest to marsh or open water, due to climate change-related disturbances. Recent studies have found early warning signals (EWS) of regime shifts in other ecosystems, but it is unclear if these can be detected for coastal wetlands. In this study, we examined the ability to...
Authors
Melinda Martinez, Marcelo L Ardon, Joshua Gray

Landsat geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat Cal/Val team...
Authors
Jerad Shaw, Cody Anderson, Mike Choate, Esad Micijevic

Science

Eyes on Earth Episode 130 – NLCD Accuracy

Providing accuracy metrics for a land cover map takes some work. But there’s poetry and story involved, too.
link

Eyes on Earth Episode 130 – NLCD Accuracy

Providing accuracy metrics for a land cover map takes some work. But there’s poetry and story involved, too.
Learn More

Eyes on Earth Episode 129 – What Happens During a Landsat Pass?

For this episode, we go inside the Landsat operations room at EROS to see what happens during a live Landsat pass.
link

Eyes on Earth Episode 129 – What Happens During a Landsat Pass?

For this episode, we go inside the Landsat operations room at EROS to see what happens during a live Landsat pass.
Learn More

Eyes on Earth Episode 128 – 2024 EROS Fall Poster Session

Posters covered a wide range of topics as local graduate students and EROS scientists shared their work in the EROS atrium.
link

Eyes on Earth Episode 128 – 2024 EROS Fall Poster Session

Posters covered a wide range of topics as local graduate students and EROS scientists shared their work in the EROS atrium.
Learn More

Multimedia

Landsat 9 Image of the Greater Los Angeles Fires - January 14, 2025 (During)
Landsat 9 Image of the Greater Los Angeles Fires - January 14, 2025 (During)
Landsat 9 Image of the Greater Los Angeles Fires - January 14, 2025 (During)
Thumbnail image for Eyes on Earth Episode 130 – NLCD Accuracy, showing photo of Jo Horton
Eyes on Earth Episode 130 – NLCD Accuracy
Eyes on Earth Episode 130 – NLCD Accuracy
Landsat 8 Image of the Greater Los Angeles Fires - January 6, 2025 (Before)
Landsat 8 Image of the Greater Los Angeles Fires - January 6, 2025 (Before)
Landsat 8 Image of the Greater Los Angeles Fires - January 6, 2025 (Before)
Landsat 9 Image of Emi Koussi in Chad
Landsat 9 Image of Emi Koussi in Chad
Landsat 9 Image of Emi Koussi in Chad
Landsat 8 image of western NY area after December snowfall
Landsat 8 image of western NY area after December snowfall
Landsat 8 image of western NY area after December snowfall
Landsat mosaic of the Wind River Range in Wyoming
Landsat Mosaic of the Wind River Range in Wyoming
Landsat Mosaic of the Wind River Range in Wyoming
A Landsat 9 image of irrigated cropland in northeast Nebraska during the 2024 growing season
Landsat 9 image of irrigated cropland in northeast Nebraska 2024
Landsat 9 image of irrigated cropland in northeast Nebraska 2024
Landsat 9 image of cropland in southeastern Missouri
Landsat 9 image of cropland in southeastern Missouri
Landsat 9 image of cropland in southeastern Missouri
Landsat 8 image of Lake Thompson in South Dakota, showing a November algal bloom.
Landsat 8 Image of Lake Thompson in South Dakota
Landsat 8 Image of Lake Thompson in South Dakota
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