Remote sensing of the Earth from orbital altitudes was recognized in the mid-1960 s as a potential technique for obtaining information important for the effective use and conservation of natural resources. The studies began when the Tiros satellites (1960) provided man s first synoptic view of the Earth s weather systems. The manned Gemini and Apollo Programs (1962-72) led to further consideration of space-age remote sensing for study of Earth. The Earth Resources Technology Satellite, later designated Landsat, provided repetitive multispectral observation of the Earth. Earth rising
Skylab, the largest manned space station placed at low Earth orbit at the time, was lunched in May 14, 1973 and carried into space the Earth Resources Experiment Package (EREP). EREP was designed to view the Earth with sensors that recorded data in the visible, infrared, and microwave spectral regions. EREP became another step in space exploration by testing the high spatial resolution camera systems with film return capability, narrow frequency bandwidth scanner systems in the visible through thermal-infrared spectral region, and initial use of active and passive microwave systems in Earth resources surveys. A significant feature of EREP was the use of man to operate the sensors in a laboratory fashion. Landsat represents the world's longest (since 1972) continuously acquired collection of space-based land remote sensing data. The instruments on the Landsat satellites have acquired millions of images. The images, archived in the United States and at Landsat receiving stations around the world, are a unique resource for global change research and applications in agriculture, geology, forestry, regional planning, education and national security.
Landsat Missions Landsat 1 (07/12/1972-01/06/1978) - RBV, MSS (80m) Landsat 2 (01/22/1975-07/27/1983) - RBV, MSS (80m) Landsat 3 (03/05/1978-09/07/1983) - RBV, MSS (80m) Landsat 4 (07/16/1982 - ) - MSS, TM (30m, 120m TIR) Landsat 5 (03/01/1984 - ) - MSS, TM (30m, 120m TIR) Landsat 6 (10/05/1993): ETM Landsat 7 (04/23/1999 - ) - ETM+ (30m, 60m TIR, 15m Pan) Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) 2010...?????? August 17, 2007, The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released the National Land Imaging Program (NLIP) strategy. This program is designed to meet U.S. civilian moderate resolution land imaging needs to monitor the changes in land surface, Polar Regions, and coastal zones due to the changes in population growth, development and climate changes. It establishes a program office in the DOI to provide focused leadership and management for the nation s land imaging efforts. NLIP will focus on maintaining a core, operational government commitment and capability to collect moderate-resolution land imagery through the procurement and launch of a series of U.S. owned satellites thereby ensuring the continuity of U.S. collected and managed Landsat-like data, well into future decades.
Landsat-7 ETM+ Data of Providence Landsat-7 Panchromatic Data (15 m) Landsat-7 ETM+ Data (30 m), Bands 3, 2, 1 in RGB Landsat-7 ETM+ Data (30 m), Bands 4, 3, 2 in RGB Landsat-7 ETM+ Data (30 m), Bands 4, 5, 3 in RGB Landsat World Reference System
Landsat Ground Stations TERRA (EOS AM) - Launched December 18, 1999 The following instruments fly on TERRA: ASTER: MODIS: Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (15m - 3 bands in VNIR; 30m - 6 bands in SWIR; 90m - 5 bands in TIR) Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer (0.4-14.4 µm) (250m - 2 bands, 500m - 5 bands, 1000m - 29 bands) CERES: Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System MISR: Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer MOPITT: Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere.
EO-1: successfully launched on November 21, 2000 ALI -Advanced Land Imager consists of a 15 Wide Field Telescope (WFT) and partially populated focal plane occupying 1/5th of the field-of-view, giving a ground swath width of 37 km. Hyperion Hyper-spectral sensors a grating imaging spectrometer having a 30 meter ground sample distance over a 7.5 kilometer swath and providing 10nm (sampling interval) contiguous bands of the solar reflected spectrum from 400-2500nm. LEISA/LAC -Linear Etalon Imaging Spectrometer Array Atmospheric Corrector (LAC) an imaging spectrometer covering the spectral range from 900 to 1600 nm which is well suited to monitor the atmospheric water absorption lines for correction of atmospheric effects in multispectral imagers such as ETM+ on Landsat. A comparison with Landsat 7 is included. Hyperspectral data Such as Hyperion sensor on board the EO-1 Satellite and Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) Spectral profile in a single pixel location from 0.4 to 2.5 µm at 10 nm interval for a continuous coverage over 220 bands EO-1 launched November 21, 2000 AVIRIS
EOS AM Constellation / Ground Tracks 1 min. 15 min. SPOT satellites 1 min. SPOT 5 was successfully launched on May 3, 2002 SPOT 4 - March 24, 1998 SPOT-4 VEGETATION SPOT 3 - Sept. 25, 1993 SPOT 2 - Jan. 22, 1990 SPOT 1 - Feb. 21, 1986 8
The SPOT Sensor The position of each HRV entrance mirror can be commanded by ground control to observe a region of interest not necessarily vertically beneath the satellite. Thus, each HRV offers an oblique viewing capability, the viewing angle being adjustable through +/- 27degrees relative to the vertical. Two spectral modes of acquisition are employed, panchromatic (P) and multispectral (XS). Both HRVs can operate in either mode, either simultaneously or individually. SPOT 4-VEGETATION: This program marks a significant advance to monitor crops and the continental biosphere. The VEGETATION instrument flying on Spot 4 provides global coverage on an almost daily basis at a resolution of 1 kilometer, thus making it an ideal tool for observing long-term environmental changes on a regional and worldwide scale. With a swath width of 2,250 kilometers, the VEGETATION instrument covers almost all of the globe's land masses while orbiting the Earth 14 times a day. Only a few zones near the equator are covered every day. Areas above 35 latitude are seen at least once daily.
Ground resolution: 1 meter panchromatic (0.45-0.90 µm), 4 meters multispectral (same as Landsat TM bands 1-4) (Band 1: 0.45-0.52 µm Blue) (Band 2: 0.52-0.60 µm Green) (Band 3: 0.63-0.69 µm Red) (Band 4: 0.76-0.90 µm Near IR) Launched: September 24, 1999
On October 19, 2001 DigitalGlobe launched the QuickBird satellite. September 3, 2003 QuickBird Satellite Panchromatic Images (0.6-m Spatial Resolution) Concepts of Spatial Resolution
September 3, 2003 QuickBird Satellite True-color and Pseudo-color Images 2.5-m Spatial Resolution Concept of Multispectral Or spectral resolution QuickBird-2 Satellite (Launched: Oct. 19, 2001) Spatial Resolutions: 0.61 meter panchromatic; 2.5 meters multispectral
Enhanced Multispectral Multispectral Image Image 2.5 m (0.6 Spatial m Spatial Resolution Resolution) Panchromatic Image 0.6 m Spatial Resolution Resolution Merge? Enhanced Multispectral Image (0.6 m Spatial Resolution)
QuickBird Enhanced Spatial Resolution True Color Satellite Image (0.6 m) (Band 3, 2, 1 in RGB) Comparable Spatial Resolution True Color Orthophoto (0.5 m Spatial Resolution) QuickBird Enhanced Spatial Resolution Pseudo Color Satellite Image (0.6 m) (Band 4, 2, 1 in RGB) More Spectral Coverage True Color Orthophoto (0.5 m Spatial Resolution)
Comparison of Enhanced Spatial Resolution QuickBird Multispectral Image and True Color Orthophoto DigitalGlobe WorldView I First Images (Houston and Yokohama) WorldView I, launched September 2007, collects 0.5-meter resolution imagery with an average revisit time of 1.7 days. WorldView II, is anticipated to launch in 2008. 0.5-meter panchromatic resolution and 1.8- meter multispectral resolution, an average revisit time of 1 day.
GeoEye-1 0.4-meter Spatial Resolution Data (simulated) vs. 1-meter Data GeoEye-1, a Google sponsored satellite, was successfully launched September 6, 2008. October 13, 2008, GeoEye released its first image, awaiting NGA (National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, the largest customer of GeoEye-1) approval.
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), February 11-22, 2000, obtained the high-resolution digital topographic database of the Earth Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) Geographic Information for Sustainable Development (GISD) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) in GIS Tanzania/ Kenya Coastal Zone SeaWiFS Level-3 Standard Mapped Image October 2001 SeaWiFS Level-3 Standard Mapped Image October 1997 Credit line for all images: Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and ORBIMAGE
The purpose of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project is to provide quantitative data on global ocean bio-optical properties to the Earth science community. Subtle changes in ocean color signify various types and quantities of marine phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants), the knowledge of which has both scientific and practical applications. SeaWiFS was launched on August 1, 1997. Instrument Bands Band Wavelength 1 402-422 nm 2 433-453 nm 3 480-500 nm 4 500-520 nm 5 545-565 nm 6 660-680 nm 7 745-785 nm 8 845-885 nm Mission Characteristics Orbit Type Equator Crossing Orbital Period Spatial Resolution Revisit Time Digitization Sun Synchronous at 705 km Noon +20 min, descending 99 minutes 1.1 km LAC, 4.5 km GAC 1 day 10 bits Examples Of SeaWiFS Images