Landsat Satellites have given earth people consistent images of their planet for almost 50 years. A joint venture of NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, the 9th satellite was launched into space yesterday (9-27-2021). NASA Senior Scientist Dr. Elizabeth Hoy explains their importance. "We're able to really understand how our earth has changed over the last near-50 years. And with Landsat 9, we'll be able to see it change in at least 10 years into the future as well." Dr. Hoy says anyone can use the imagery and the data enables farmers and land managers to see the evolution of forest fires, insect outbreaks, land temperatures, and how productive their fields are.
The 9th satellite shot into space to join the 8th to bring scientists, farmers, emergency responders and urban planners an overall view of the piece of earth they are studying. Dr. Hoy says adding Landsat 9 will improve the operation. "We'll have imaging every 8 days now, and that's a lot of imaging to study!" The data is available for anyone to use. The Landsat 9 observatory continues building on our understanding of the planet with even higher imaging capabilities than previous Landsats.
You can use data sent to earth from Landsat now by going to Google Earth and finding out what your home looks like from waaaaaay up high!
Photo:NASA
View from Landsat8 Satellite of Louisiana after Hurricane Ida.