Recently NASA has introduced its ‘new eye in the sky’, a satellite known as Landsat 9. Launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, this earth monitoring satellite is a joint operation between NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The satellite is designed to help study climate change by observing and documenting changes to the earth’s surface over time.
A Look Into The Background
Landsat-9 represents an ongoing series of Earth-observing spacecraft that spans almost half a century. The original Landsat satellite was deployed in 1972 and since then these satellites have continuously documented the earth, contributing to our understanding of how land usage impacts the environment over decades. An important policy enacted in 2008 made all Landsat images freely available to the public, providing invaluable data to researchers, farmers, policy analysts, glaciologists and seismologists. Landsat images have been instrumental in studying the health of forests and coral reefs, monitoring water quality, and keeping track of melting glaciers.
About Landsat 9
The newly launched Landsat 9 joins its predecessor, Landsat 8 which was launched in 2013. Together, these satellites work to capture images of Earth’s surface, completing a full capture every 8 days. The technology aboard Landsat 9 mirrors previous Landsat satellites but introduces a new level of technological sophistication. The instruments onboard include the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2), which studies the light reflected off the Earth’s surface, and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2), designed to monitor the Earth’s surface temperature.
Sentinel Satellites: European Union’s Climate Studies Tool
Working alongside the Landsat satellites, the European Union’s Sentinel Satellites are integral to providing a more accurate representation of the extent of climate change. Launched under the Copernicus Programme by the European Space Agency (ESA), these six satellites each serve different purposes. From providing all-weather, day and night radar images, to delivering high-resolution optical images for land services, monitoring atmosphere, or contributing data for oceanography and climate studies, these Sentinel satellites make valuable contributions to our understanding of earth and climate.
India’s Earth Observation Satellites
However, it’s not only the USA and the European Union contributing to Earth observation. India has recently launched its own Earth Observation Satellite, EOS-01, designed to support agriculture, forestry and disaster management. Equipped with remote sensing technology, such satellites gather valuable data about Earth’s physical, chemical and biological systems. Many have been launched on sun-synchronous orbit, deliberately timed to ensure observations occur at the same local time each day. Other similar satellites launched by India’s ISRO include RESOURCESAT-2, 2A, CARTOSAT-1, 2, 2A, 2B, RISAT-1 and 2, OCEANSAT-2, Megha-Tropiques, SARAL and SCATSAT-1, INSAT-3DR, and 3D.
Thus, the launch of NASA’s Landsat 9 is the latest in a global endeavor to utilize technology for studying and understanding the Earth’s systems. These cumulative efforts provide invaluable insights into climate change and help shape policies and practices towards a sustainable future.