Images

The USGS Landsat archive holds over fifty years of Earth-Observing satellite data. This animation displays the cumulative number of Landsat scenes since 1972. The colors on the maps show the density of the number of Landsat Level-1 products. 

Timeline of the Landsat program, beginning with the launch of Landsat 1 in 1972. Landsat 10 is expected to launch in 2031. As the tenth Landsat mission, it will continue the legacy of the Landsat program.

Visit the Landsat Missions webpage to learn more.

This image shows the spectral bandpasses for the sensors on all Landsat satellites. 

Landsat 10 will collect five foundational spectral bands at 10-meter resolution, compared to the 30-meter resolution used by Landsat 8 and 9. The smaller pixels provide sharper images and support more detailed mapping of Earth's changing landscapes. Image credit: NASA

In a September 21, 1966 press release, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall announced that the DOI was launching "Project EROS (Earth Resources Observation Satellites)." Udall's vision was to observe the Earth for the benefit of all. 

This illustration compares the spectral bands of the sensors onboard Landsat 8 and Landsat 9, compared to the 26 bands that will capture imagery on Landsat 10. Refined and new bands will allow easier merging of data products and support emerging Landsat applications.

A new Worldwide Reference System, WRS-3, was developed for Landsat 10 due to the change in orbital parameters. The WRS-3 will provide a method to acquire, index, and catalog Landsat 10 scenes.

The 2026-2030 Landsat Science Team met for their first in-person meeting May 5-7, 2026 at the USGS EROS Center. 

This Landsat 9 image shows ice along a portion of the Antarctic western coast and the Amundsen Sea. 

This image was acquired on October 24, 2025, immediately after the Landsat 9 spacecraft recovered from a weeklong safehold event.  The data used in this image were processed for the first time in March 2026. 

This Landsat image displays a portion of the Laramie Mountains within the Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern Wyoming. The rugged mountain range marks part of the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. 

• Landsat 8
• Path 34 Row 31
• Acquired March 29, 2026

Landsat 9 captured this image of heart-shaped McCartney Mountain on September 20, 2025. At an elevation of over 8,300 feet, the mountain is the high point of a small sub-range of the Highland Mountains in southwestern Montana. 

This graphic displays the number of Landsat-related publications starting in 1970. While publications decreased during the Commercialization Era, research rebounded greatly after the USGS open data policy decision in 2008. 

This map displays the scenes acquired by Landsat 4, Landsat 5, and Landsat 7 satellites, on the World Reference System (WRS-2). These scenes were initially downlinked and stored at Landsat International Cooperator Ground Stations. 

This map displays the scenes acquired by Landsat 1, Landsat 2, and Landsat 3 satellites, on the World Reference System (WRS-1). These scenes were initially downlinked and stored at Landsat International Cooperator Ground Stations. 

The Landsat Benefits Webpage Banner displays some ways of how Landsat data benefits the United States. 

Visit the Landsat Benefits, State by State webpage to see how Landsat benefits your favorite State! 

The Landsat 4 satellite was launched July 16, 1982, and ushered in many “firsts” that propelled the Landsat missions that followed. 

This Landsat 9 image shows the Apalachicola River and the Apalachicola Bay in Florida’s Panhandle. The river —Florida’s largest in terms of water volume discharge— follows the western boundary of heavy forest and is home to great diversity of freshwater fish species. 

November’s  final weekend brought snowfall to much of the northern United States. This Landsat 9 image, acquired on December 1st, highlights an area along the South Platte River near the point where the Missouri, Nebraska, and Colorado borders meet. 

This false-color Landsat 8 image, acquired on September 16, 2025, shows the Las Vegas metropolitan area in southern Nevada. Lake Mead is visible east of the city, while the surrounding Mojave Desert, mountain ranges, and irrigated agricultural areas provide contrast with the urban landscape.

This animation shows Treasure Valley, part of the Snake River Valley and home to the Boise, Idaho, metro area. The Boise Mountains lie to the east, and cropland and pasture/hay land lie to the west. The area’s population has seen significant growth in recent decades, far more than doubling between 1990 and now to above 800,000.

This animation shows Annual NLCD land cover data on the left that was derived from Landsat imagery on the right. It illustrates the effects of the 1992 Fountain Fire in northern California and much of the forested area’s eventual recovery. The Fountain Fire burned about 64,000 acres, almost all of it privately owned.