1 00:00:01,633 --> 00:00:04,233 From 438 miles above Earth’s surface, 2 00:00:04,233 --> 00:00:08,200 the newest Landsat satellite will collect data so detailed, 3 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:09,666 it can detect both natural and 4 00:00:09,666 --> 00:00:11,900 human-caused changes to the landscape. 5 00:00:14,033 --> 00:00:15,766 But what really makes Landsat unique 6 00:00:15,766 --> 00:00:17,833 is the half-century of data, 7 00:00:17,833 --> 00:00:21,366 an unbroken chain of observations over five decades. 8 00:00:21,366 --> 00:00:23,700 Let’s take a look at how we got here. 9 00:00:23,900 --> 00:00:27,133 1966 – The US Geological Survey proposes a satellite 10 00:00:27,133 --> 00:00:29,266 to study Earth’s land masses. 11 00:00:29,266 --> 00:00:31,100 But what would that look like? 12 00:00:31,100 --> 00:00:32,400 Over the next few years, 13 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,933 USGS and NASA research their options. 14 00:00:37,266 --> 00:00:40,733 1970 – NASA gets the green light to build 15 00:00:40,733 --> 00:00:43,133 an Earth Resources Technology Satellite, 16 00:00:43,133 --> 00:00:45,066 an experiment to study and monitor 17 00:00:45,066 --> 00:00:47,666 our planet’s land surface from space. 18 00:00:47,666 --> 00:00:49,166 Launched in ’72, 19 00:00:49,166 --> 00:00:51,833 this was the first digital data of Earth, 20 00:00:51,833 --> 00:00:54,800 repeated at regular intervals, with geometric fidelity 21 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,300 to allow comparison between observations. 22 00:00:59,100 --> 00:01:00,900 This changed how we drew maps, 23 00:01:00,900 --> 00:01:02,966 tabulated agricultural production, 24 00:01:02,966 --> 00:01:05,600 and assessed damage after disasters. 25 00:01:06,033 --> 00:01:09,000 In 1975, NASA launched a second satellite, 26 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:10,766 similar to the first. 27 00:01:10,766 --> 00:01:13,766 Now they were collecting twice as much data. 28 00:01:13,766 --> 00:01:17,200 With Landsat 3 replacing the aging original in ’78, 29 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:21,000 focus shifted to the advanced technology planned for the 80s. 30 00:01:21,700 --> 00:01:23,500 The Thematic Mapper instrument, 31 00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:25,666 launched on Landsat 4 in 1982 32 00:01:25,666 --> 00:01:28,066 and on its twin Landsat 5 in ‘84, 33 00:01:28,066 --> 00:01:30,033 was a major step forward. 34 00:01:30,033 --> 00:01:32,000 Collecting seven different wavelengths, 35 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,200 at better ground resolution, and with higher precision, 36 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,366 this was the beating heart of the satellite 37 00:01:37,366 --> 00:01:41,400 and became the work horse for a generation of scientists. 38 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,833 For the first time, Landsat data had three visible bands 39 00:01:44,833 --> 00:01:46,366 – red, green, and blue – 40 00:01:46,366 --> 00:01:49,833 allowing natural-color composite images. 41 00:01:52,166 --> 00:01:54,966 And with the addition of short-wave infrared wavelengths, 42 00:01:54,966 --> 00:01:57,533 the data could better highlight flooded areas, 43 00:01:57,533 --> 00:02:01,966 mineral deposits, and burn scars from wildfires. 44 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:05,566 The thermal bands were also upgraded 45 00:02:05,566 --> 00:02:08,666 allowing individual farm fields to be tracked. 46 00:02:11,166 --> 00:02:12,533 The sixth Landsat was intended 47 00:02:12,533 --> 00:02:14,566 to be another big step forward, 48 00:02:14,566 --> 00:02:18,000 but it never reached orbit after launch in 1993. 49 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,266 Plans immediately began for Landsat 7, 50 00:02:20,266 --> 00:02:23,300 which would carry an even more improved sensor. 51 00:02:23,300 --> 00:02:25,733 At the time, the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus 52 00:02:25,733 --> 00:02:28,233 was the most stable Earth observation instrument 53 00:02:28,233 --> 00:02:30,666 ever sent into orbit, and the calibration 54 00:02:30,666 --> 00:02:33,300 could be updated while in space. 55 00:02:33,300 --> 00:02:34,300 For the first time, 56 00:02:34,300 --> 00:02:35,933 we had an instrument robust enough 57 00:02:35,933 --> 00:02:37,566 to collect lots of data, 58 00:02:37,566 --> 00:02:41,000 and we had a plan to thoroughly record the entire globe. 59 00:02:41,333 --> 00:02:44,600 Landsat 7 was put to work mapping coral reefs, 60 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:45,866 and even produced the first 61 00:02:45,866 --> 00:02:47,700 high-resolution natural-color map 62 00:02:47,700 --> 00:02:49,800 of remote Antarctica. 63 00:02:52,666 --> 00:02:55,233 Improvements to the thermal bands on Landsat 7 64 00:02:55,233 --> 00:02:56,500 allowed states and counties 65 00:02:56,500 --> 00:02:59,300 to gauge how much water was used by crops. 66 00:02:59,300 --> 00:03:02,833 This helps manage water resources efficiently. 67 00:03:03,233 --> 00:03:05,933 An important milestone occurred in 2008, 68 00:03:05,933 --> 00:03:09,466 when the USGS made the data available to download for free. 69 00:03:10,366 --> 00:03:12,866 Users were able to get the data they needed, 70 00:03:12,866 --> 00:03:14,833 and not just what they could afford. 71 00:03:14,833 --> 00:03:16,933 It really unlocked a ton of innovation 72 00:03:16,933 --> 00:03:19,066 and created about 2 billion dollars a year 73 00:03:19,066 --> 00:03:21,833 in economic benefits. 74 00:03:23,900 --> 00:03:25,966 The modern era of Landsat observations 75 00:03:25,966 --> 00:03:28,933 began with the launch of Landsat 8 in 2013. 76 00:03:29,833 --> 00:03:32,233 Having a push-broom style sensor on Landsat 8 77 00:03:32,233 --> 00:03:35,800 was a big improvement over the older scanning sensor. 78 00:03:36,700 --> 00:03:39,000 The Landsat 8 ground system that USGS runs 79 00:03:39,166 --> 00:03:42,300 is capable of receiving a lot more data than before. 80 00:03:42,300 --> 00:03:45,700 We’re downloading over 725 scenes each day. 81 00:03:45,700 --> 00:03:49,100 That just wasn’t remotely possible until Landsat 8. 82 00:03:49,533 --> 00:03:51,766 The two European Sentinel-2 satellites 83 00:03:51,766 --> 00:03:53,700 were designed to mesh with Landsat 84 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:56,200 so that users can treat data from all the satellites 85 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,466 as if it came from one single source. 86 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:01,233 Now we get observations every 2 or 3 days, 87 00:04:01,233 --> 00:04:02,900 instead of every 2 weeks. 88 00:04:04,933 --> 00:04:09,533 2021 is the launch of Landsat 9, the next step forward. 89 00:04:09,933 --> 00:04:13,733 It will collect the best data ever recorded by a Landsat satellite, 90 00:04:13,733 --> 00:04:18,133 while still integrating seamlessly with the extensive archive. 91 00:04:18,766 --> 00:04:20,600 Since the early 1970s, 92 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:24,800 Landsat satellites have allowed us to better manage our resources. 93 00:04:25,133 --> 00:04:27,733 Landsat data has enabled countless innovations 94 00:04:27,733 --> 00:04:32,166 and will let us track the effects of climate change into the future.