A brief information and comparison of LANDSAT series of satellites for the study purposes of engineers on Remote sensing and GIS topic

2.  On July 23, 1972 the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was
eventually renamed to Landsat.
 The most recent, Landsat 8, was launched on February 11, 2013. The instruments on
the Landsat satellites have acquired millions of images.
 Landsat satellites have been collecting images of the Earth's surface for more than
thirty years.
 Instruments onboard the satellites have acquired millions of images of the Earth.
 These images provide a unique resource for people who work in agriculture, geology,
forestry, regional planning, education, mapping, and global change research

3. Landsat data provides a high spatial and spectral resolution imagery set useful for:
 Estimation of snow cover extent expressed as fraction per pixel,
 Estimation of tree canopy cover,
 Other geophysical and vegetation parameters.

4. TIROS
 The Television Infrared Observation Satellite Program (TIROS)
 The TIROS Program (Television Infrared Observation Satellite) was NASA's first
experimental step to determine if satellites could be useful in the study of the
Earth.
 The TIROS Program's first priority was the development of a meteorological satellite
information system. Weather forecasting was deemed the most promising
application of space-based observations.
 TIROS proved extremely successful, providing the first accurate weather forecasts
based on data gathered from space. TIROS began continuous coverage of the Earth's
weather in 1962, and was used by meteorologists worldwide.

7. Instrument Launched Terminated Duration Notes
Landsat 1 July 23, 1972 January 6, 1978
2 years, 11 months and
15 days
Originally named Earth Resources
Technology Satellite 1.
Landsat 2 January 22, 1975 February 25, 1982
2 years, 10 months and
17 days
Nearly identical copy of Landsat 1
Landsat 3 March 5, 1978 March 31, 1983 5 years and 26 days
Nearly identical copy of Landsat 1 and
Landsat 2
Landsat 4 July 16, 1982 December 14, 1993
11 years, 4 months and
28 days
Landsat 5 March 1, 1984 June 5, 2013
29 years, 3 months and
4 days
Nearly identical copy of Landsat 4.
Longest Earth-observing satellite mission
in history.
Landsat 6 October 5, 1993 October 5, 1993 0 days Failed to reach orbit.
Landsat 7 April 15, 1999 Still active
15 years, 9 months and
19 days
Operating with scan line corrector
disabled since May 2003.
Landsat 8 February 11, 2013 Still active
1 year, 11 months and
23 days
Originally named Landsat Data
Continuity Mission from launch until May
30, 2013, when NASA operations were
turned over to USGS.

9.  The first three satellites were identical and their payloads consisted of two optical
instruments, a multispectral sensor (MultiSpectral Scanner or MSS)and a series of
video cameras (Return Beam Vidicons or RBVs).
altitude: 907-915 km
inclination: 99.2 degrees
orbit: sun-synchronous polar
orbit period: 103 minutes
revisit time: 18 days

10.  RBV sensors
The payloads of the first two satellites included a series of three video cameras that
took pictures in the visible and infrared bands. The resolution was 80m for 185 x
185km images. The resolution of the images acquired by Landsat 3 was raised to
40m, but the cameras took images in a single panchromatic spectral band (0.5-
0.75µm) only.
 MSS sensors
These mechanical sensors collected information in four spectral bands and over a
185 x 185km area. Since this instrument was developed after the three RBV
cameras, these bands were numbered from 4 to 7. Landsat 3’s multispectral scanner
included an additional spectral band in the thermal infrared band.
satellites : LANDSAT 1 (23/07/1972 - 06/01/1978)
LANDSAT 2 (22/01/1975 - 05/02/1982)
LANDSAT 3 (05/03/1978 - 31/03/1983)

11. Band Spectral band Resolution
4 0,5 - 0,6 µm 79 m x 82 m
5 0,6 - 0,7 µm 79 m x 82 m
6 0,7 - 0,8 µm 79 m x 82 m
7 0,8 - 1,1 µm 79 m x 82 m
8 10,5 - 12,4 µm
240 m x 240 m (LANDSAT 3
only)

12.  The next two satellites (LANDSAT 4 and 5) were equipped with two mutispectral
sensors, i.e., a multispectral scanner (MSS) and a Thematic Mapper (TM).
 altitude: 705 km
inclination: 98.2 degrees
orbit: sun-synchronous polar
orbit period: 98.9 minutes
revisit time: 16 days
satellites : LANDSAT 4 (16/07/1982 – 07/1987)
LANDSAT 5 (01/03/1985 – operational)

13.  MSS sensors
These scanners were identical to those on the first two Landsat satellites. The only
difference was that the four spectral bands were numbered from 1 to 4 since the
RBVs were no longer used. Landsat 5’s MSS stopped acquiring data in 1992.
Band Spectral band Resolution Use
1 0,5 - 0,6 µm 79 m x 82 m Coastal zones, marine sediments
2 0,6 - 0,7 µm 79 m x 82 m Roads and urban areas
3 0,7 - 0,8 µm 79 m x 82 m
Plant studies and mapping of earth/water
boundaries
4 0,8 - 1,1 µm 79 m x 82 m
Plant studies and mapping of earth/water
boundaries

14.  TM sensors
These high-resolution scanners have seven spectral bands and always cover a 185 x
185 km area.
Band Spectral band Resolution Use
1 0,45 - 0,52 µm 30 m x 30 m Ground/plants differentiation, coastal zones
2 0,52 - 0,60 µm 30 m x 30 m Vegetation
3 0,63 - 0,69 µm 30 m x 30 m Plant species differentiation
4 0,76 - 0,90 30 m x 30 m Biomass
5 1,55 - 1,75 µm 30 m x 30 m Snow/cloud differentiation
6 10,4 - 12,5 µm 120 x 120 m Thermal
7 2,08 - 2,35 µm 30 m x 30 m Lithology

15.  The last generation of Landsat satellites started with a failure, for Landsat 6 was
lost just after its launch on 3 October 1993.
 Landsat 7 was launched in 1999 and is equipped with a mutispectral sensor known
as the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus or ETM+.
 altitude: 705 km
inclination: 98.2 degrees
orbit: sun-synchronous polar
orbit period: 98.9 minutes
revisit time: 16 days
satellites : LANDSAT 6 (03/10/1993 – 03/10/1993)
LANDSAT 7 (15/04/1999 – still operational)

16.  ETM+ sensor
As its name indicates, this scanner is an enhanced version of the previous TMs. It
now has a high-resolution panchromatic wide band.
Band Spectral band Resolution Use
1 0,45 - 0,515 µm 30 m x 30 m
Ground/plant differentiation,
coastal zones
2 0,525 - 0,605 30 m x 30 m Vegetation
3 0,63 - 0,69 µm 30 m x 30 m Differentiate plant species
4 0,75 - 0,90 µm 30 m x 30 m Biomass
5 1,55 - 1,75 µm 30 m x 30 m Snow/cloud differentiation
6 10,4 - 12,5 µm 60 m x 60 m Thermal
7 2,09 - 2,35 µm 30 m x 30 m Lithology
PAN 0,50 - 0,90 µm 15 m x 15 m

17.  The Landsat 8 satellite images the entire Earth every 16 days in an 8-day offset from
Landsat 7.
 Data collected by the instruments onboard the satellite are available to download at
no charge from GloVis, EarthExplorer, or via the LandsatLook Viewer within 24 hours
of reception.

18. Processing: Level 1 T- Terrain Corrected
Pixel Size:
OLI multispectral bands 1-7,9: 30-meters
OLI panchromatic band 8: 15-meters
TIRS bands 10-11: collected at 100 meters but resampled
to 30 meters to match OLI multispectral bands
Data Characteristics:
 GeoTIFF data format
 Cubic Convolution (CC) resampling
 North Up (MAP) orientation
 Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection
(Polar Stereographic projection for scenes with a center
latitude greater than or equal to -63.0 degrees)
 World Geodetic System (WGS) 84 datum
 12 meter circular error, 90% confidence global accuracy
for OLI
 41 meter circular error, 90% confidence global accuracy
for TIRS
 16-bit pixel values