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Data Science
Operational

Landsat 9

Landsat 9, a joint NASA and U.S. Geological Survey satellite mission, launched on September 27, 2021, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and will extend the Earth-observing program’s record of land images to half a century.

The Landsat program has provided accurate measurements of Earth’s land cover since 1972. With data from Landsat satellites, ecologists have tracked deforestation in South America, water managers have monitored irrigation of farmland in the American West, and researchers have watched the growth of cities worldwide. With the help of the program’s open archive, firefighters have assessed the severity of wildfires and scientists have mapped the retreat of mountain glaciers.

Launch Date
September 27, 2021
Class
Flight Project
Websites
Key Staffs
Instrument

Landsat 9, a joint NASA and U.S. Geological Survey satellite mission, launched on September 27, 2021, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and will extend the Earth-observing program’s record of land images to half a century.

The Landsat program has provided accurate measurements of Earth’s land cover since 1972. With data from Landsat satellites, ecologists have tracked deforestation in South America, water managers have monitored irrigation of farmland in the American West, and researchers have watched the growth of cities worldwide. With the help of the program’s open archive, firefighters have assessed the severity of wildfires and scientists have mapped the retreat of mountain glaciers.

Related Publications

2026. "Methodology for evaluating and combining sensor radiometric responses to on-board calibrators.", Science of Remote Sensing, 13 100418 [10.1016/j.srs.2026.100418] [Journal Article/Letter]

2026. "Global and boreal estimates of woody aboveground biomass for 2020: Filling GEDI'S northern data gap with ICESat-2 and harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2.", Remote Sensing of Environment, 340 115406 [10.1016/j.rse.2026.115406] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Evaluation and characterization of a laboratory VNIR spectrometer for use in the calibration of field radiometers.", Earth Observing Systems XXIX, 9 [10.1117/12.3027284] [Proceedings]

2026. "Global uncertainty assessment of vegetation indices from NASA's Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 Project.", Remote Sensing of Environment, 332 115084 [10.1016/j.rse.2025.115084] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "TIF: A time-series-based image fusion algorithm.", Remote Sensing of Environment, 331 115035 [10.1016/j.rse.2025.115035] [Journal Article/Letter]