Sep 28, 2021
By: Marcia SekhoseNASA today launched the ninth edition of its space image Landsat satellite, which is part of a joint mission with the US Geographical Survey (USGS).
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The first Landsat satellite was launched on July 23, 1972.
Credit: NASA
These satellites capture images of agricultural productivity, forest extent and health, water quality, coral reef habitat health, and glacier dynamics. The images are archived and available for anyone to access.
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Landsat 9 along with its sister satellite Landsat 8 will capture all of the Earth’s land and coastal areas in eight days. That means you’ll get a complete picture of Earth every eight days.
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Landsat 9 and Landsat 8 will work together to provide new real-time data of what’s happening on the surface of Earth. It can capture images of farms, forests, waterways, glaciers, urban areas, and even forest fires.
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Landsat 9 has two instruments - Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2) and Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2). OLI-2 captures wavelengths of visible light and near infrared and shortwave infrared that reflect off the Earth. The combinations of these wavelengths give the natural colour of scenes such as the health of a vegetation, and strength of a wildfire.
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Landsat 9 can see 16,384 shades of colour which is four times the depth of colour the previous satellites could see. This will make it possible for Landsat 9 to capture images of dark scenes with more detail like the coastal waters and dense forests.
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Images captured from the Landsat satellites help researchers and scientists understand how the earth is changing. Landsat 9 is expected to help make “science-based decisions on key issues including water use, wildfire impacts, coral reef degradation, glacier and ice-shelf retreat, and tropical deforestation.”
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After the first Landsat satellite launched into orbit, it has been capturing and storing images of the Earth for 50 years now. Landsat 9 will continue the 50-year journey of NASA and USGS.
Credit: NASA