USGS Director David Applegate and Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King signed a related joint statement following a meeting February 8, 2024, at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. 

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The opportunity to partner comes from the Landsat 2030 International Partnership Initiative, which was announced during the December 2023 U.S. National Space Council meeting. It is designed to enhance U.S. and partner governments’ abilities to sustainably manage their land, surface water and resource use.

Landsat – an Earth observing satellite partnership between the USGS and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) -- has created the longest space-based record of Earth’s surface for more than 50 years. 

This development builds on Australia’s nearly 50-year partnership in the Landsat program through its Earth science agency, Geoscience Australia. 

Landsat Next is the next generation Landsat satellite data and will build upon Landsat’s legacy of global land imaging with improved capabilities such as higher spatial resolution, twice the current number of spectral bands, and more frequent local observations. 

Australia plans to commit $207.4 million over four years and ongoing funding to the project, going towards enhancing its satellite ground station facilities in Alice Springs, and supporting advanced new data processing and analytics capabilities.

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The Landsat Next program will consist of three satellites operating in tandem and is planned for launch in the early 2030s.

Both agencies intend to update and formalize related agreements by this summer in the United States.