Scientists worldwide recognize that there exists only one accurate image record, spanning nearly four decades, of the Earth's land surfaces, coastlines, and reefs at a scale revealing both natural and human-induced change. This record has been obtained and continuously updated by sensors onboard a series of land-imaging satellites that began with the launch of Landsat 1 in 1972. The Landsat program, managed under a partnership between the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), provides historical and current land-surface image data to users in over 180 countries via USGS archives and those of its international-partner ground receiving stations around the world. In recent years Landsat data have emerged as critical to the discovery, monitoring, and understanding of changes to the Earth's surface caused by climate, human impact, or natural disasters.

• Year of submission: 2010
• Country: United States of America