Introduction

Across nearly four decades since 1972, Landsat satellites continuously have acquired space-based images of the Earth’s land surface, coastal shallows, and coral reefs. The Landsat Program, a joint effort of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was established to routinely gather land imagery from space; consequently, NASA develops remote-sensing instruments and spacecraft, then launches and validates the satellites. The USGS then assumes ownership and operation of the satellites, in addition to managing all ground-data reception, archiving, product generation, and distribution. The result of this program is a visible, long-term record of natural and human-induced changes on the global landscape.

First posted May 11, 2010