Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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.

Join us on Social!

News

2024 in Review: EROS Celebrates Annual NLCD, Landsat 7's 25-Year Mission

2024 in Review: EROS Celebrates Annual NLCD, Landsat 7's 25-Year Mission

2024 in Review: Highlighting the Best of Landsat

2024 in Review: Highlighting the Best of Landsat

Upcoming Maintenance to Interrupt USGS EROS Product Distribution

Upcoming Maintenance to Interrupt USGS EROS Product Distribution

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 Cal/Val Tea
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 detect EWS of
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 continual
Authors
Jerad Shaw, Cody Anderson, Mike Choate, Esad Micijevic

Science

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

Eyes on Earth Episode 127 – The Historic Landsat 7 Mission

Taking care of a satellite that’s 438 miles in space requires creative problem solving—we talk about those moments and memories of the nearly 25 years of land imaging from Landsat 7.
link

Eyes on Earth Episode 127 – The Historic Landsat 7 Mission

Taking care of a satellite that’s 438 miles in space requires creative problem solving—we talk about those moments and memories of the nearly 25 years of land imaging from Landsat 7.
Learn More

Multimedia

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
Landsat satellites from 1972 to present are shown and the Van Diemen Gulf in Australia
Landsat Satellites Banner Image with Title
Landsat Satellites Banner Image with Title
Thumbnail image for video: 1 Hour of Earth From Above: Relaxing Landsat Satellite Imagery
Thumbnail Image for 1 Hour of Earth From Above
Thumbnail Image for 1 Hour of Earth From Above
Landsat satellites from 1972 to present moving above the Earth. T
Landsat Satellites Banner Image
Landsat Satellites Banner Image
USGS Director David Applegate, Dr. Brian Barnes and Dr. Chuanmin Hu with University of South Florida's Optical Oceanography Lab, Division Director of the NASA Earth Science Division Karen St. Germain
Pecora Team Award, 2024.jpeg
Pecora Team Award, 2024.jpeg
Thumbnail image for Eyes on Earth Episode 129 – What Happens During a Landsat Pass?, showing Aaron Hensley and Eric Gaspar
Eyes on Earth Episode 129 – What Happens During a Landsat Pass?
Eyes on Earth Episode 129 – What Happens During a Landsat Pass?
Landsat 9 Image of Washington D.C.
Washington D.C. as seen by Landsat 9
Washington D.C. as seen by Landsat 9
Was this page helpful?