Landsat 7

Landsat 7 is a satellite launched by NASA on April 15, 1999. It is the seventh satellite in the Landsat program, a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Landsat 7's primary goal is to refresh the global archive of satellite imagery to provide essential data for agriculture, education, business, science, and government use.

Overview

Landsat 7 carries the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) payload, an advanced multispectral imaging sensor that captures images of the Earth's surface in eight different wavelength bands. This allows for detailed observations of features and phenomena on the Earth's surface, including vegetation, cloud cover, water bodies, and human-made structures.

Mission

The mission of Landsat 7 is to provide timely, relevant, and accurate data and images of the Earth's surface on a global scale. This data is used in a variety of applications, including land use planning, natural resource management, disaster response, and climate change research.

Scan Line Corrector Failure

In May 2003, the Scan Line Corrector (SLC) in the ETM+ instrument failed, causing a loss of approximately 22% of each image. Despite this, Landsat 7 continues to provide valuable data, and techniques have been developed to fill in the missing data in SLC-off images.

Legacy

Landsat 7 has significantly contributed to Earth science by providing a continuous record of the Earth's surface, enabling scientists and researchers to study and understand changes in the environment. Its data is also used in various practical applications, from agriculture and forestry to urban planning and disaster management.

See also

• Landsat program
• Landsat 8
• Remote sensing
• Satellite imagery