Landsat 9 is a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and continues the Landsat program’s critical role of repeat global observations for monitoring, understanding, and managing Earth’s natural resources.
Road to Launch
Visit this interactive StoryMap to learn more about the process of building Landsat 9 and how it will extend Landsat’s unbroken record of our planet to over a half a century.
Fact sheet
For an overview of the Landsat 9 mission, download the fact sheet from the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Transition to Operations
Learn more about the Landsat 9 Commissioning and Operations Phases after Launch
Since 1972, Landsat data provide a unique resource for those who work in agriculture, geology, forestry, regional planning, education, mapping, and global change research. Landsat images also prove invaluable to the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters, supporting emergency response and disaster relief to save lives. With the addition of Landsat 9, the Landsat program’s record of land imaging extends to over half a century.
Landsat 9 captured five first light images: the Himalayas of Nepal, the Navajo Nation in the Western United States, the inlets of the Kimberly region of Western Australia, the Pensacola Beach on the Florida Panhandle, and the Lake Erie near Detroit, Michigan and Ontario, Canada.
Spacecraft and Launch Components:
- Spacecraft Provider: Northrop Grumman
- Spacecraft Bus: Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (formerly Orbital ATK)
- Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401
- Spacecraft Speed: 16,760 miles/hr (26,972 km/hr)
- Design Life: 5 years
- Consumables: 10 years
Landsat 9, launched on September 27, 2021 at 1:12PM CST from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, onboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket. Landsat 9 carries the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI–2), built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation, Boulder, Colorado, and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS–2), built at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. Northrop Grumman designed and fabricated the spacecraft and integrated the two instruments.
NASA is responsible for the space segment (instruments and spacecraft/observatory), mission integration, launch, and on-orbit checkout.
After NASA completes on-orbit checkout, the USGS is responsible for the ground system, flight operations, data processing, data product distribution and archiving.
Landsat 9 Instruments
The instruments onboard Landsat 9 are improved replicas of those currently collecting data onboard Landsat 8, which are already providing data that is radiometrically and geometrically superior than instruments on previous generation Landsat satellites.
The satellite carries two science instruments, the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2). The OLI–2 captures observations of the Earth’s surface in visible, near-infrared, and shortwave-infrared bands, and TIRS-2 measures thermal infrared radiation, or heat, emitted from the Earth’s surface. Both OLI and TIRS have a 5-year mission design life, although the spacecraft has 10+ years of consumables.
Landsat 9 improvements include higher radiometric resolution for OLI-2 (14-bit quantization increased from 12-bits for Landsat 8) allowing sensors to detect more subtle differences, especially over darker areas such as water or dense forests. With the higher radiometric resolution, Landsat 9 can differentiate 16,384 shades of a given wavelength. In comparison, Landsat 8 provides 12-bit data and 4,096 shades, and Landsat 7 detects only 256 shades with its 8-bit resolution. In addition to the OLI-2 improvement, TIRS-2 has significantly reduced stray light compared to the Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) which enables improved atmospheric correction and more accurate surface temperature measurements..
Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2)
The OLI-2 design is a copy of Landsat 8’s OLI, and provides imagery consistent with previous Landsat spectral, spatial, radiometric and geometric qualities. OLI-2 will provide data for nine spectral bands with a maximum ground sampling distance (GSD), both in-track and cross track, of 30-meters(m) (98 feet) for all bands except the panchromatic band, which has a 15-meter (49 feet) GSD. OLI-2 provides both internal calibration sources to ensure radiometric accuracy and stability, as well as the ability to perform solar and lunar calibrations. OLI-2 is designed by Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado.
Nine spectral bands:
- Band 1 Visible Coastal Aerosol (0.43 - 0.45 µm) 30-m
- Band 2 Visible Blue (0.450 - 0.51 µm) 30-m
- Band 3 Visible Green (0.53 - 0.59 µm) 30-m
- Band 4 Red (0.64 - 0.67 µm) 30-m
- Band 5 Near-Infrared (0.85 - 0.88 µm) 30-m
- Band 6 SWIR 1(1.57 - 1.65 µm) 30-m
- Band 7 SWIR 2 (2.11 - 2.29 µm) 30-m
- Band 8 Panchromatic (PAN) (0.50 - 0.68 µm) 15-m
- Band 9 Cirrus (1.36 - 1.38 µm) 30-m
Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2)
Landsat 9’s Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2) measures thermal radiance emitted from the land surface in two thermal infrared bands using the same technology that was used for TIRS on Landsat 8, however TIRS-2 is an improved version of Landsat 8’s TIRS, both with regards to instrument risk class and design to minimize stray light. TIRS-2 provides two spectral bands with a maximum ground sampling distance, both in-track and cross track, of 100 m (328 ft) for both bands. TIRS-2 provides an internal blackbody calibration source as well as space view capabilities. TIRS-2 is designed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Two spectral bands:
- Band 10 TIRS 1 (10.6 - 11.19 µm) 100-m
- Band 11 TIRS 2 (11.5 - 12.51 µm) 100-m
Landsat 9 Data Products
Data acquired by Landsat 9 is processed into the Landsat Collection 2 inventory structure in the Worldwide Reference System-2 (WRS-2) path/row system, with swath overlap (or sidelap) varying from 7 percent at the Equator to a maximum of approximately 85 percent at extreme latitudes.
Landsat 9 collects as many as 750 scenes per day, and with Landsat 8, the two satellites add nearly 1,500 new scenes a day to the USGS Landsat archive. Landsat 9 increases the volume of the USGS archive by imaging all global landmasses and nearshore coastal regions, including islands at solar elevation angles greater than 5 degrees that were not always routinely collected prior to Landsat 8.
All Landsat 9 data and products are available for download through the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center at no charge.
Please note: All Landsat 9 Collection 2 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) data will be reprocessed at the beginning of 2023 to take advantage of calibration updates identified during the first year of operation.
Landsat 9 Documentation and Information
- Landsat 9 Data Users Handbook
- Landsat Project Documentation
- Landsat 9 Information (NASA Landsat Science)
Related Content
First Images by Landsat 9 Released
USGS Opens Door to Data
Landsat 9 Data to be Reprocessed at the End of 2022
All Landsat 9 Collection 2 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) data will be reprocessed at the end of 2022 to take advantage of calibration updates identified during the first year of operation.
How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Cirrus Band 9 used?
The Operational Land Imager’s Band 9 1.360-1.390 µm on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 detects thin, high-altitude clouds composed of ice crystals that might not be visible in other spectral bands. In Band 9, cirrus clouds appear bright while most land surfaces appear dark through an otherwise cloud-free atmosphere containing water vapor. Learn more: Landsat 8 Mission Landsat 9 Mission Landsat 8 & 9 bands...
How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Coastal/Aerosol Band 1 used?
The Operational Land Imager Band 1 (0.433-0.453 µm) on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 is useful for imaging shallow water and tracking fine atmospheric particles like dust and smoke. Band 1 reflects blues and violets, where light is scattered by dust, smoke, and water particles in the air. Collecting data with enough sensitivity at this spectrum is difficult. Since water absorbs and scatters light...
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...
When was the Landsat 9 satellite launched?
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
- Multimedia
- Publications
- Web Tools
- News
First Images by Landsat 9 ReleasedFirst Images by Landsat 9 ReleasedUSGS Opens Door to DataUSGS Opens Door to Data
Landsat 9 Data to be Reprocessed at the End of 2022
All Landsat 9 Collection 2 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) data will be reprocessed at the end of 2022 to take advantage of calibration updates identified during the first year of operation.
- FAQ
How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Cirrus Band 9 used?
The Operational Land Imager’s Band 9 1.360-1.390 µm on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 detects thin, high-altitude clouds composed of ice crystals that might not be visible in other spectral bands. In Band 9, cirrus clouds appear bright while most land surfaces appear dark through an otherwise cloud-free atmosphere containing water vapor. Learn more: Landsat 8 Mission Landsat 9 Mission Landsat 8 & 9 bands...
How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Coastal/Aerosol Band 1 used?
The Operational Land Imager Band 1 (0.433-0.453 µm) on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 is useful for imaging shallow water and tracking fine atmospheric particles like dust and smoke. Band 1 reflects blues and violets, where light is scattered by dust, smoke, and water particles in the air. Collecting data with enough sensitivity at this spectrum is difficult. Since water absorbs and scatters light...
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...
When was the Landsat 9 satellite launched?
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