March 29, 2024

First Light From Landsat 9 – See Its Stunning First Images of Earth

The natural-color image above was cropped from the very first one taken by Landsat 9 on October 31. With 14 -bit radiometric resolution, Landsat 9 can distinguish more than 16,000 shades of a given wavelength; Landsat 8 supplies 12-bit information and 4,096 shades. Landsat 7, the satellite being replaced, spots only 256 tones with its 8-bit resolution.
The Landsat 9 group at NASA is now performing a 100-day check-out– understood as satellite commissioning– that involves checking the satellites systems and subsystems and calibrating its instruments in preparation for handing the objective over to USGS in January 2022. USGS will operate Landsat 9 along with Landsat 8.

The natural-color image above was cropped from the really first one taken by Landsat 9 on October 31. It reveals the Coronation Islands along the Kimberly coast in the state of Western Australia. The image below shows the city around Detroit, Michigan (U.S.) and Windsor, Ontario (Canada), in addition to surrounding Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie.
October 31, 2021
Landsat 9 carries 2 main instruments: the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2), which spots visible, near-infrared, and shortwave-infrared light in 9 wavelengths, and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2), which finds thermal radiation in two wavelengths used to determine Earths surface area temperatures. Together the instruments can provide users with necessary details about crop health, irrigation use, water quality, wildfire intensity, logging, glacial retreat, and city expansion, specifically when put in the context of the long Landsat information record.
The brand-new satellite and instruments are quite similar in style to Landsat 8, which was released in 2013 and stays in orbit. Together the two satellites will collect around 1,500 pictures of Earths surface every day, observing the whole world every 8 days.
Landsat 9 features a number of enhancements, consisting of higher radiometric resolution, permitting the sensors to detect more subtle distinctions in surface features, especially over darker areas like water or dense forests. With 14 -bit radiometric resolution, Landsat 9 can differentiate more than 16,000 shades of a given wavelength; Landsat 8 provides 12-bit data and 4,096 shades. Landsat 7, the satellite being replaced, spots only 256 shades with its 8-bit resolution.
” The information and images from Landsat 9 are expanding our ability to see how Earth has actually changed over decades,” said Karen St. Germain, Earth Science Division director for NASA. “In an altering climate, complimentary and continuous access to Landsat data and to other data from NASAs Earth observing fleet helps information users– consisting of city farmers, researchers, and coordinators– plan for the future.”
The Landsat 9 team at NASA is now conducting a 100-day check-out– referred to as satellite commissioning– that includes evaluating the satellites subsystems and systems and adjusting its instruments in preparation for handing the mission over to USGS in January 2022. USGS will run Landsat 9 together with Landsat 8. The brand-new information will be offered to the public free of charge from the USGS website once Landsat 9 starts typical operations.
” The unbelievable very first images from the Landsat 9 satellite are a glance into the data that will assist us make science-based decisions on crucial problems including water usage, wildfire effects, coral reef degradation, glacier and ice-shelf retreat, and tropical logging,” stated USGS Acting Director David Applegate. “This historical moment is the conclusion of our long partnership with NASA on Landsat 9s development, launch, and initial operations, which will much better support environmental sustainability, climate modification resiliency, and financial development.”
NASA images by Matt Radcliff, utilizing Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Kate Ramsayer, with Mike Carlowicz.

October 31, 2021
Now in its check-out duration, the satellite has actually supplied a glimpse of the compelling and useful images it will provide in tandem with Landsat 8.
Landsat 9, a joint mission in between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that released in September 2021, has actually collected its very first pictures of Earth. Acquired on October 31, the “first-light” images offer a preview of how the objective will assist people handle crucial natural resources and understand the effects of climate modification. The new satellite extends an unequaled data record that spans almost 50 years of space-based observation of Earth.
” First light is a big turning point for Landsat users; its the first chance to really see the kind of quality that Landsat 9 supplies,” said Jeff Masek, the objectives job scientist at NASA. “When we have Landsat 9 operating in coordination with Landsat 8, its going to be this wealth of information, allowing us to monitor changes to our home world every 8 days.”