Suggested Searches

News

The Landsat program does more than just collect data. It helps write Earth's story.

NASA’s Landsat 9 satellite launches on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Station in California on Sept. 27, 2021. Launch time was 2:11 p.m. EDT (11:11 a.m. PDT). The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Landsat 9 will join its sister satellite, Landsat 8, in orbit in collecting images from across the planet every eight days. This calibrated data will continue the Landsat program’s critical role in monitoring the health of Earth and helping people manage essential resources, including crops, irrigation water, and forests. NASA Goddard manages the Landsat 9 mission. Goddard teams also built and tested one of the two instruments on Landsat 9, the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2) instrument. TIRS-2 will use thermal imaging to make measurements that can be used to estimate soil moisture and detect the health of plants.

Since 1972, Landsat satellites have systematically documented our planet's changing surface, from shifting agricultural patterns and urban expansion to forest loss and coastal erosion. This continuous record provides scientists with invaluable data to understand long-term environmental change. 

Filters

All Categories

Date Range

Finding Freshwater in Great Salt Lake
4 min read

Reed-covered mounds exposed by declining water levels reveal an unexpected network of freshwater springs that feed directly into the lake…

Jan 26, 2026
Article
North America’s Greenhouse Hub
3 min read

The expansion of greenhouses in southern Ontario is changing the appearance of the land surface—and the night sky.

Jan 20, 2026
Article
NASA Data Helps Maine Oyster Farmers Choose Where to Grow
6 min read

NASA satellites are helping Maine oyster farmers pick better sites and plan when oysters will be ready to harvest.

Jan 15, 2026
Article
An Amphitheater of Rock at Cedar Breaks
4 min read

The colorful formations found in this bowl-shaped escarpment in southwestern Utah are the centerpiece of Cedar Breaks National Monument.

Jan 5, 2026
Article
New Landsat Science Team Announced
5 min read

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with NASA, has named the new Landsat Science Team that will support the world’s…

Dec 17, 2025
Article
Maintaining the Gold Standard: The Future of Landsat Calibration and Validation
4 min read

The NASA CalVal team spent 2025 improving their calibration techniques, strengthening collaboration, and sharing their work with the remote sensing…

Dec 16, 2025
Article