- Landsat Series
- Overview
Landsat Series Overview
Mission Background
The first Landsat mission was launched in 1972, and was the first Earth observation satellite with the goal to monitor the world's land. It was soon followed by successors, and the series continues to this day, making Landsat the longest continuous Earth imaging program in history.
| Mission | Landsat-1 | Landsat-2 | Landsat-3 | Landsat-4 | Landsat-5 | Landsat-7 | Landsat-8 |
| Operators | NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) | NASA | NASA | NASA | NASA | NASA | USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) |
| Launch Dates | 23 Jul 1972 | 22 Jan 1975 | 5 Mar 1978 | 16 Jul 1982 | 1 Mar 1984 | 15 Apr 1999 | 11 Feb 2013 |
| End of Service | 6 Jan 1978 | Removed from operations 25 Feb 1982. Decommissioned on 27 Jul 1983 | Standby mode on 31 Mar 1983 and decommissioned on 7 Sept 1983 | Standby Dec. 93. Decommissioned on 15 Jun 2001 | Decommissioned on 5 Jun 2013 | Still operational | Still operational |
| Orbit Height | 907 km | 908 km | 917 km | 705 km | 705 km | 705 km | 705 km |
| Orbit Type | Sun-synchronous near-polar | Sun-synchronous near-polar | Sun-synchronous near-polar | Sun-synchronous near-polar | Sun-synchronous near-polar | Sun-synchronous polar | Sun-synchronous |
| Inclination | 99.2° | 99.2° | 99.2° | 98.2° | 98.2° | 98.2° | 98.2° |
| Repeat Cycle | 18 days | 18 days | 18 days | 16 days | 16 days | 16 days | 16 days |
| Equatorial Crossing Time | 9:30 a.m. | 9:45 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. | 9:45 a.m. | 9:45 a.m | 10:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. |
| Onboard sensors provided under TPM | Multispectral Scanner (MSS) | MSS | MSS | MSS Thematic Mapper (TM) | MSS TM | ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus) | OLI (Operational Land Imager) TIRS (Thermal InfraRed Scanner) |
Related Links
Learn more about the Landsat Series: