| Overview
LANDSAT-1 is the world first earth observation satellite launched by the United States in 1972 and a memorable satellite which has been recognized in availability being capable of observing the earth far from space. Its excellent observation ability brought about the importance of state-of-the-art remote sensing. Following LANDSAT-1, LANDSAT-2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 were launched, and currently LANDSAT-7 is operated as a main satellite.
LANDSAT-5 is equipped with Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and Thematic Mapper (TM). MSS is an optical sensor to observe the reflected solar radiation from the earth surface in four different spectral bands by a combination of the optical system and the sensor. TM is a more advanced version of observation equipment than MSS, which observes the earth's surface in 7 spectral bands ranging from visible to thermal infrared regions.
LANDSAT-7 is equipped with Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), the successor of TM. The observation bands are basically same seven bands as TM and the newly added band 8 with a 15m of high resolution.
Characteristic
|
Launched by |
Date of launch |
Date of termination |
Altitude |
Sensor |
Recurrent period |
| LANDSAT-1 |
NASA |
1972.7.23 |
1978.1.6 |
915km |
RBV/MSS |
18 days |
| LANDSAT-2 |
NASA |
1975.1.22 |
1982.2.25 |
915km |
RBV/MSS |
18 days |
| LANDSAT-3 |
NASA |
1978.3.5 |
1983.3.31 |
915km |
RBV/MSS |
18 days |
| LANDSAT-4 |
NASA |
1982.7.16 |
2001.6.15 |
705km |
MSS/TM |
16 days |
| LANDSAT-5 |
NASA |
1984.3.1 |
Operating*1 |
705km |
MSS/TM |
16 days |
| LANDSAT-6 |
NASA |
1993.10.5 |
1993.10.5 |
- |
ETM |
16 days |
| LANDSAT-7 |
NASA |
1999.4.15 |
Operating*1 |
705km |
ETM+ |
16 days |
*1 : JAXA/EOC announces that the search functions concerned to a part of LANDSAT data using the Earth Observation Data and Information System (EOIS) has been terminated on August 14, 2006.(Detail Information)
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