TNC Global Invasive Species Team page


	The Global Invasive Species Team

GIST Home

Privacy

Instrument profile: Landsat

Landsat is a series of satellites that have been in operation since 1972. Landsat 1, 2, and 3 were of similar optical design. These three satellites were equipped with a Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS).

Landsat 4, 5 introduced the Thematic Mapper (TM) in addition to the MSS.

Landsat 7 is the most recently launched satellite, and includes the Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+). The satellites have been instrumental in mapping the surface of the Earth for countless remote sensing applications.

Platform	Launch date	Deactivation date	Remote sensing payloads^a
Landsat-1^b	23 July 1972	2 January 1978	MSS, RBV^c
Landsat-2^b	22 January 1975	25 February 1982	MSS, RBV^c
Landsat-3^b	5 March 1978	31 March 1983	MSS, RBV^c
Landsat-4	16 July 1982	August 1993^d	MSS, TM
Landsat-5	1 March 1984	Still operational	MSS, TM
Landsat-6	5 October 1993	Failed on launch	ETM
Landsat-7	15 April 1999	Still operational	ETM+
^aDetails of the relevant are given in the next table on this page. ^bAlso called Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) series. ^cThe Return Beam Vidicom (RBV) was in effect a television camera and was not very useful. ^dFinally decommissioned in June 2001.

Usefulness to land managers
Because of the large pixel size (30 m on a side), Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 data are likely to be useful only to those working on ecoregional/state/national/global scales. Data from earlier Landsat missions have lower resolution and are even less suitable to regional managers.

Costs and Contacts
http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html--technical information.
http://landsat7.usgs.gov/index.php--ordering data.
MSS data cost approximately $200-300 per scene (185 × 170 kilometers), depending upon volume and level of image processing required; additional scene discounts available. TM data cost $425 per scene (170 × 183 kilometers); additional scene discounts available. ETM+ scenes vary widely in cost, depending upon options selected and number of images requested; a single scene (170 × 183 kilometers) can cost between $200-$600.

Sample images (L7 imagery)

Mt. St. Helens,
28-Sept-2004.

Manhattan, Long
Island, NJ.

Namibia, Kuiseb R.;
Bands 3-2-1

Hawai'i, Mau'i,
Kahoolawe.

San Francisco Bay,
Bands 3-2-1.

Useful Web Sites
See above.

Technical Specs

Multispectral Scanner (MSS): Device Characteristics	Band number		Spectral coverage	Resolution	Scene size
Multispectral Scanner (MSS): Device Characteristics	Landsats 1-3	Landsats 4-5	Spectral coverage	Resolution	Scene size
	4 (green)	1 (green)	500-600 nm	79 m^a	185 × 170 km
	5 (red)	2 (red)	600-700 nm
	6 (near-IR)	3 (near-IR)	700-800 nm
	7 (near-IR)	4 (near-IR)	800-1100 nm
^aPixel size for these images is 57 ×57 m.
Thematic Mapper (TM): Device Characteristics	Band number Landsats 4-5		Spectral coverage	Resolution	Scene size
	1 (blue-green)		450-520 nm	30 m	170 × 183 km
	2 (green)		520-600 nm
	3 (red)		630-690 nm
	4 (reflected-IR)		760-900 nm
	5 (reflected-IR)		1550-1750 nm
	6 (thermal-IR)		10400-12500 nm	120 m^b
	7 (reflected-IR)		2080-2350 nm	30 m
^bThe image resolution for band 6 is 120 m, but the data product is resampled to be displayed with 30 meter pixels.
Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+): Device Characteristics	Band number Landsat 7		Spectral coverage	Resolution	Scene size
	1 (visible)		450-520 nm	30 m	170 × 183 km
	2 (visible)		530-610 nm
	3 (visible)		630-690 nm
	4 (near-IR)		780-900 nm
	5 (near-IR)		1550-1750 nm
	6 (thermal-IR)		10400-12500 nm	60 m
	7 (mid-IR)		2090-2350 nm	30 m
	8 (panchromatic)		520-900 nm	15 m

References
http://www.earth.nasa.gov/history/landsat/landsat.html (and subpages)--accessed 24 Sept. 2004
http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html (and subpages)--accessed 24 Sept. 2004
http://landsat.usgs.gov/index.php (and subpages)--accessed 24 Sept. 2004
http://landsat.usgs.gov/documents/fs02303.pdf--accessed 24 Sept. 2004