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INSIGHTi
Landsat Next on the Horizon
November 21, 2023
In December 2022, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) presented initial details about Landsat Next, the next proposed launch in the Landsat
series of Earth-observing satellites that began on July 23, 1972. Landsat Next is to be a constellation of
three observatories, sent into orbit on the same launch vehicle in late 2030 (see Figure 1), which are to
collectively provide, on average, about 10 times more data than its predecessor mission, Landsat 9.
Figure 1. Schematic of Landsat Next Constellation
Source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), “Landsat Next,” at https://www.usgs.gov/landsat-missions/landsat-next.
Landsat sensors detect and record visible near-infrared, shortwave-infrared, and thermal-infrared energy
digitally and transmit images to ground stations, where they are processed and stored in a data archive.
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Landsat images are intended to be consistent with archived data to allow long-term comparisons of
changes in the Earth’s land features. In 2008, the USGS began making all Landsat data available for
download at no charge and without restrictions. Recently, the USGS has released Landsat data via the
commercial cloud.
Sustainable Land Imaging Program
In 2016, NASA and the Department of the Interior (DOI), which includes the USGS, entered into an
interagency agreement to redefine their long-term Landsat collaboration through the Sustainable Land
Imaging Program (SLIP) and outline responsibilities for future Landsat satellites. Under SLIP, the
agencies are to develop a multi-decadal, spaceborne system to provide high-quality global land-imaging
measurements compatible with the existing Landsat record. In practice, NASA develops Landsat satellites
and instruments, launches the spacecraft, and checks the mission performance. Then, the USGS takes
over satellite operations and manages and distributes the data from the Earth Resources Observation and
Science Center. SLIP’s memorandum of understanding also calls for jointly developing program strategy
and architecture, identifying user needs, and defining mission requirements.
Current Landsat Observations
Landsat 9 was the first Landsat satellite launched under SLIP. Currently, Landsat 8 and 9 add nearly 1,500
new images a day to the Landsat archive. Landsat 8 and 9 each carry two sensors: an operational land
imager (OLI), which observes many of the same spectral bands of radiation as Landsat 7, but with
improvements, and a thermal infrared sensor (TIRS) that can measure land surface temperature. Both
instruments have a 5-year mission design life, and the spacecrafts were launched with more than 10 years
of fuel. For more information, see CRS Report R46560, Landsat 9 and the Future of the Sustainable Land
Imaging Program.
Other countries have remote sensing satellite systems that are compatible with Landsat in certain areas
and differ in others. For example, the European Space Agency Copernicus Earth Observation Program’s
Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B satellites share many of the technical characteristics of Landsat 8 and 9,
though Sentinel-2 satellites provide additional unique features (e.g., red-edge and water vapor spectral
bands) and do not have thermal infrared capability. Collectively, these satellites represent a system of
systems, as called for by the National Academy of Sciences in the 2018 decadal strategy for Earth
observation from space.
Resolution Improvements Projected for Landsat Next
Under SLIP, a Joint Agency Sustainable Land Imaging Architecture Study Team evaluated an acquisition
strategy for a follow-on mission to Landsat 9 that would best satisfy assessed user needs, mission
architecture, and mission requirements. NASA and the USGS state that the result, the planned Landsat
Next constellation, will improve the temporal, spatial, and spectral resolutions by two to three times (see
Table 1), while maintaining radiometric resolution (e.g., how much information is perceived by a
satellite’s sensor). The sensors on Landsat Next will have 26 spectral bands (see Figure 2), including
refined versions of the 11 Landsat “heritage” bands, 5 bands with similar characteristics to Sentinel-2
bands, and 10 new spectral bands to support emerging Landsat applications.
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Table 1. Resolution Differences Between Landsat 8 and 9, Sentinel-2 A & B,
and Landsat Next
Resolution
Definition
Landsat 8 and 9
Sentinel-2 A and B
Landsat Next
Temporala
Amount of time between visits
16 days per satellite
10 days per satellite
16 days per satellite
of a sensor to a specific
or 8 days in tandem
or 5 days in tandem
or 6 days collectively
observation area (e.g., the time
(swath width of 185
(swath width of 290
(swath width of 165
between satellite orbits over
kilometers)
kilometers)
kilometers)
the same location)
Spatial
Size of the area on Earth’s
30x30 meters for 9
10x10 meters for 3
10x10 meters for 5
surface represented by each
OLI bands and
bands; 20x20 meters
bands; 20x20 meters
pixel (finer resolution allows
100x100 meters for 2
for 6 bands; 60x60
for 13 bands; 60x60
greater detail within the
TIRS bands
meters for 4 bands
meters for 8 bands
targeted area)
Spectral
Ability of a sensor to discern
11 bands (including 2
13 bands (no thermal
26 bands (including 5
different wavelengths of
thermal bands)
bands)
thermal bands)
electromagnetic radiation (e.g.,
more wavelength bands provide
finer resolution)
Source: CRS using NASA, USGS, and European Space Agency websites.
Notes: OLI = operational land imager; TIRS = thermal infrared sensor.
a. Clouds can obscure imagery of parts of the Earth at any given time, affecting temporal resolution.
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Figure 2. Spectral Comparison of Landsat 8 and 9 and Landsat Next
Source: CRS using USGS, “Landsat Next,” at https://www.usgs.gov/landsat-missions/landsat-next.
Moving Landsat Next Forward
Landsat Next’s life cycle progress, including mission formulation, design, construction, launch, and
operations, is contingent on multiple years of federal appropriations. In November 2022, the mission
passed Key Decision Point A, entering the formulation phase to complete concept and technology
development. For FY2024, NASA requested the first funds to initiate Landsat Next ($95.7 million), and
the USGS requested an increase of $12 million for its SLIP line item compared with FY2023 for Landsat
Next ground system development. Congress may debate the sufficient amount and timing of funding for
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both agencies to support Landsat Next. Congress also may consider conducting oversight of mission
progress to ensure Landsat Next meets user needs and requirements and the desired launch date.
Author Information
Anna E. Normand
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
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