National Land Imaging Program

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Our Nation’s economic security and environmental vitality rely on continuous monitoring of the Earth’s continents, islands, and coastal regions in order to record, study, and understand land change at local, regional, and global scales. The USGS National Land Imaging (NLI) Program helps meet this need.

Image of the Week

Image of the Week

The waves of sugar cane that once defined the Hawaiian island landscape of Maui, have slowly given way to non-native annual grasses in recent decades. Those grasses have become a fire hazard along the way. 

Maui Fires

Landsat 9 Road to Launch

Landsat 9 Road to Launch

Launching in 2021, Landsat 9 is a partnership between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Learn about the process of building Landsat 9 and how it will extend Landsat's unbroken record of our planet to over half a century.

Road to Launch

More to Explore

Follow these links to learn more about our remote sensing research partnerships, how to access and download data, our image collections, news articles, and more.

National Land Imaging Program Fact Sheet

Landsat Missions

NLI Highlights

Image Collections

Pecora Award

Find and Download Data

2020 Remote Sensing Satellite Compendium

News

Date published: January 13, 2021

Atlas displays beauty, variety, and value of Landsat water images

Landsat satellites exist to provide information—millions of images’ worth of information—about the Earth’s surface.

Date published: January 13, 2021

Fort Collins Science Center Scientists have strong presence at AGU Fall Meeting 2020

Fort Collins Science Center scientists had multiple presentations and poster submissions, as well as one award, at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 2020. The Meeting was the largest worldwide virtual conference in the Earth and space sciences, with over 20,000 attendees. 

Date published: January 5, 2021

First Orbital Space Flight Operations Coming to EROS, South Dakota

South Dakota’s first foray into orbital space flight operations is unfolding at the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center near Sioux Falls as work begins there on a backup Landsat Multi-Satellite Operations Center (bLMOC).

Publications

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Year Published: 2021

Landsat collection 2

Landsat Collections ensure that all Landsat Level-1 data are consistently calibrated and processed and retain traceability of data quality provenance. Landsat Collection 2 introduces improvements that harness recent advancements in data processing, algorithm development, data access, and distribution capabilities. Collection 2 includes Landsat...

U.S. Geological Survey, 2021, Landsat Collection 2 (ver. 1.1, January 15, 2021): U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2021–3002, 4 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20213002.

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Year Published: 2020

Maine and Landsat

Maine is a place of rocky coastlines, of rich maritime history symbolized by lighthouses dotting the ocean bluffs, and of wondrous nature areas like the granite and spruce islands of Acadia National Park. But Maine is a place of changes, too. Climate variability has brought the state heavier and more frequent rainstorms. Summers are hotter and...

U.S. Geological Survey, 2020, Maine and Landsat: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2020–3066, 2 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20203066.

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Year Published: 2020

Minnesota and Landsat

Landsat land-imaging satellites underpin public and private sector decisions in the Minnesota and across the Nation for effective adaptation to changing landscapes. Those decisions often lead to enhanced agricultural productivity, smart urban development, and sustainable forest management. Landsat also enables more accurate inland lake water-...

U.S. Geological Survey, 2020, Minnesota and Landsat: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2020–3059, 2 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20203059.