Updated:  20 June 2008

LANDSAT Satellites

Diagram of the Landsat 7 Satellite
Diagram of Landsat 7 satellite (courtesy of NASA)

ACRES receives and processes data from the Landsat series of satellites. The first Landsat satellite was launched in July 1972. Of the sensors carried, the Multispectral Scanner (MSS) with 80-metre pixels and four spectral bands was found to provide information of unforeseen value. In July 1982, the launch of Landsat 4 saw the inclusion of the Thematic Mapper (TM) sensor with a 30-metre resolution and 7 spectral bands. Both sensors are on Landsat 5.

The newest in this series of remote sensing satellites is Landsat 7. Launched on 15 April 1999, Landsat 7 has the new Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) sensor. This sensor has the same 7 spectral bands as its predecessor, TM, but has an added panchromatic band with 15-metre resolution and a higher resolution thermal band of 60 metres. The ETM+ sensor also has a five percent absolute radiometric calibration.


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Historical Information

Landsat MSS data has been recorded over Australia since 1972, with ACRES commencing acquisition in October 1979. Acquisition of Landsat MSS image data ceased in November 1997. From late 1979 ACRES has archived nearly every pass over Australia and continues to receive and archive data from Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 generally on a daily basis.

Diagram showing operational status of Landsat satellites 2005

SatelliteLaunch DateNotes
Landsat 1 23 July 1972 Decommissioned 6 January 1978
Landsat 2 22 January 1975 Decommissioned 25 February 1982
Landsat 3 5 March 1978 Decommissioned 31 March 1983
Landsat 4 16 July 1982 Decommissioned June 2001
Landsat 5 1 March 1984 Operational
Landsat 6 October 1993 Failed on launch
Landsat 7 15 April 1999 Operating in SLC-Off mode after May 2003

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Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Thematic Mapper (TM)

ACRES started acquiring ETM+ image data from the Landsat 7 satellite in July 1999. With ETM+ image data acquired daily, the ACRES archive is the largest repository of Landsat 7 images covering Australia.

A fault with the Landsat 7 Scan Line Corrector (SLC) occurred on 31 May 2003 resulting in small gaps in the processed products.

For more details refer to:

Overseas data can also be accessed by ACRES via our agreement with USGS.

Example of a Landsat Thematic Mapper image
Example of the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image
Example of a Landsat 7 image
Example of Landsat 7 image

The Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) is a sensor onboard the Landsat 4 and Landsat 5 spacecrafts. It provides information on the Earth's surface in the visible, near, middle and thermal infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Thematic Mapper data of Australia, Papua New Guinea and South-Eastern Indonesia has been acquired in Australia by ACRES continuously since September 1987 until 31 December 1999. Acquisitions of Landsat 5 TM data recommenced on 1 July 2003.


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Radiometric Characteristics of the ETM+ and TM Sensors

Band NumberSpectral Range
(in Microns)
EM RegionGeneralised Application Details
1 0.45 - 0.52 Visible Blue Coastal water mapping, differentiation of vegetation from soils
2 0.52 - 0.60 Visible Green Assessment of vegetation vigour
3 0.63 - 0.69 Visible Red Chlorophyll absorption for vegetation differentiation
4 0.76 - 0.90 Near Infrared Biomass surveys and delineation of water bodies
5 1.55 - 1.75 Middle Infrared Vegetation and soil moisture measurements; differentiation between snow and cloud
6 10.40- 12.50 Thermal Infrared Thermal mapping, soil moisture studies and plant heat stress measurement
7 2.08 - 2.35 Middle Infrared Hydrothermal mapping
8 0.52 - 0.90 (panchromatic) Green, Visible Red, Near Infrared Large area mapping, urban change studies

Other Satellite and Image Characteristics

Property Landsat 7 ETM+ Landsat 5 TM
Ground Sampling Interval (GSI)
(pixel size)
Bands 1-5 & 7
Band 6
Band 8
30 × 30 m
60 × 60 m
15 × 15 m pixel size (18 × 18 m GSI)*
30 × 30 m
120 × 120 m
N/A
Swath width 185 km 185 km
Repeat coverage interval 16 days (233 orbits) 16 days (233 orbits)
Altitude 705 km 705 km
Quantisation Best 8 of 9 bits 8 bits (256 levels)
On-board data storage 375 Gb (solid state) Magnetic tape failed
Orbit type Sun-synchronous Sun-synchronous
Inclination 98.2° 98.2°
Equatorial Crossing Descending node: 10:00 am Descending node: 10:10 am
* ETM+ band 8 (panchromatic) was designed to be acquired at 15m resolution, but post-launch testing shows a ground sampling interval closer to 18m.

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Multispectral Scanner (MSS)

Example of a Landsat Multispectral Scanner image
Example of a Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) image

The Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) has been on board all the Landsat spacecraft from the beginning of the Landsat program in 1972. This sensor provides information on the earth's surface in the visible and near infrared parts of the spectrum. ACRES acquired Landsat MSS image data from 14 September 1979 to 30 November 1997. Image data required for earlier dates can be obtained from archives held by the USGS, EROS Data Center.


Radiometric Characteristics

Band
Landsat 1-3
Band
Landsat 4 & 5
Spectral Range
(Microns)
EM Region Generalised Application Details
4 1 0.5 - 0.6 Visible Green Assessment of vegetation vigour, coastal water mapping
5 2 0.6 - 0.7 Visible Red Chlorophyll absorption for vegetation differentiation
6 3 0.7 - 0.8 Near Infrared Delineation of water bodies, biomass surveys
7 4 0.8 - 1.1 Near Infrared Delineation of water bodies, biomass surveys

Other Characteristics

Ground Sampling Interval (pixel size) Landsat 1-3 57 × 79 m
Quantisation 6 bit (64 levels)
Ground Sampling Interval (pixel size) Landsat 4,5 57 × 82 m
Scene Size 184 × 185.2 km
Quantisation 8 bit (256 levels)

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Enquiries and orders for Landsat data

To enquire about data availability or to order your Landsat satellite data, please contact ACRES or your ACRES Landsat distributor. Prices for ACRES Landsat data can be found in the Landsat 7 ETM+ price list, the Landsat TM price list and the Landsat MSS price list.

Trading conditions

Special copyright conditions apply to the sale of satellite data. In order to purchase satellite data products, users must agree to the licence conditions covering its use. For a copy of this Licence please contact ACRES@ga.gov.au or your nearest ACRES Distributor.