Landsat Program
The Landsat program is a collaborative effort of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USGS focuses on acquiring and assimilating land remote sensing data, while NASA’s role is to ensure the continuity of data through next-generation technology. For almost 30 years, Noblis has been involved in various advisory roles with the Landsat program, guiding the steady improvement in land remote sensing observational capabilities within that series of satellite missions working for Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Stennis Space Center (SSC), NASA Headquarters, and the USGS. We have conducted and analyzed Landsat data user surveys for both SSC and the USGS. We also performed costing and financial analyses for various Landsat program configurations comparing data-buy, design-to-build, and stand-alone satellite development life cycle costs. In addition, we supported the study team commissioned by the Executive Office of the President to analyze various options for acquiring Landsat-like data in the event of an existing Landsat satellite failure prior to launch of the next-generation Landsat satellite.
Land Remote Sensing Program
The USGS Land Remote Sensing (LRS) Program's mission is to provide and encourage the use of historical, current, and future remotely sensed data and derived scientific information for a variety of applications in order to accomplish the following:
- Protect and enhance the quality of life for U.S. citizens
- Facilitate monitoring, scientific description, and understanding of the Earth and its natural and human-induced processes
- Minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters
- Manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources
The LRS Program provides data products and services to scientists, engineers, resource managers, policy makers, and other users in the United States and around the world. The primary focus of Landsat centers on mapping the environmental conditions that relate to land cover, land use, and natural resources. Noblis has worked with the USGS to better understand the utility of Landsat data as well as the benefits of the Land Remote Sensing Program. Noblis identified the wide variety of Landsat data uses, the distributors of Landsat data, the benefits of Landsat data and products both domestically and internationally, and the importance of a continued Landsat program.