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Landsat archives, its 9 millionth scene.

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Each scene is a satellite image from space

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about 115 miles wide.

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Researchers and, well,
 just about anyone can download

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scenes from the Landsat
 archive managed by USGS.

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Landsat holds the title
 for the longest continuous

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space-based record of Earth in existence.

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That's 50 years of scenes
 like these, helping scientists

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and researchers
 understand how our planet is changing over

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time. 

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It will take Landsat 

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9 and its sister satellite, Landsat 8,

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8 days to image
 all of Earth's land and coastal areas.

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That means
 we get a complete picture of Earth

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every eight days. 

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In this case, two 

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satellites are better than one.

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Landsats 8 and 9 can work together to provide

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near real time data about what's happening
 on the surface of our planet.

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Landsat collects 

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images of each of our planet's
 seven continents.

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Farms, forests, waterways, glaciers,

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urban areas, Landsat sees it all.

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Remember, you can't manage 

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what you can't measure,
 whether it's deforestation in the Amazon

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or ice loss in Antarctica, 

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or urban sprawl in Shanghai. 

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Fire engine 

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liftoff 

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time 1756, we have liftoff.

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Landsat 6 launched on October fifth, 1993.

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Apogee kick motor should ignite right now
 and take Landsat

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to its final circular orbit--
 but it never made it to orbit.

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NASA's team of scientists and engineers 

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got to work immediately
 to figure out what went wrong.

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Turns out it was a rupture in the rocket
 fuel chamber.

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They used failure as an opportunity
 to learn.

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Six years later,
 the team launched Landsat 7.

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Liftoff of the Delta
 II rocket with the advanced...

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One of the most 

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technologically advanced Earth
 observing satellites of its generation

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still in use today.

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At least one 

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Landsat satellite has been orbiting Earth
 since 1972.

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That's nearly 50 years of steadfast
 observation.

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That first Landsat proved we could gather

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digitally encoded data from space.

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And changed the way we look at Earth 

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forever. 

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Never before 

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seen snapshots of land resources
 and the environment would be key

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for critical decision
 making decades into the future.

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Landsat collects light. 

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How intense that light is tells us about
 what's on the ground.

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You can think of intensity
 like shades of a different color.

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Landsat 9,
 the newest satellite to join the Landsat

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fleet, sees 16,384 shades.

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That's four times the depth of color
 of the previous Landsat,

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meaning we'll be able to see more detail
 in darker spots

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like coastal waters and dense forests.

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True color 

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images are made by combining red, blue
 and green light.

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Combined together, these visible
 bands of light make up all the colors

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in the rainbow
 and all of Landsat's true color images.

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Landsat
 also captures light that we can't see.

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That type of light
 can reveal some incredible things

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when you look at a false color image, like
 the difference between types of plants,

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how healthy those plants are, healthy
 coral reefs and even dead coral reefs.

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Fire tracking, ocean pollution,
 the possibilities are nearly endless.

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There
 are two instruments aboard Landsat 9.

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OLI-2 is all about light.

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Once in orbit, OLI-2 collects

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sunlight reflected off Earth's surface.

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The light passes through a set of filters
 to separate out nine

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specific wavelength bands in visible
 and infrared frequencies.

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Each band provides
 different pieces of information

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about what is down on the surface. 

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The second instrument aboard Landsat
 9 called TIRS-2, collects thermal

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infrared wavelengths,
 or temperature signatures

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emitted by the Earth itself. 

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50 years ago, the U.S. 

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Geological Survey had an idea. 

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Satellites orbiting Earth
 that could help us

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monitor our natural resources.

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Today,
 the Landsat program is jointly managed

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by NASA and the USGS,
 providing an unparalleled record

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of Earth's changing landscapes
 for the benefit of all.

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50 years of satellites. 

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50 years of life changing data.

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one legacy continued with Landsat 9.