Landsat 9 — NASA’s ‘new eye in the sky that will help study climate change

Syllabus: General Studies 3

Context:

A NASA satellite was successfully launched on September 27 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The earth monitoring satellite, Landsat 9, is a joint mission of NASA and the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Background

• The first Landsat satellite was launched in 1972 and since then, Landsat satellites have collected images of our planet and helped understand how land usage has changed over the decades.
• In 2008, it was decided that all Landsat images will be free and publicly available and the policy has helped scores of researchers, farmers, policy analysts, glaciologists, and seismologists. 
• Landsat images have been used to study the health of forests, coral reefs, monitor water quality and melting glaciers.

What is new about Landsat 9?

• The Landsat 9 joins Landsat 8 that was launched in 2013 and the satellites together will collect images of Earth’s surface. It takes 8 days to capture the whole Earth.
• Landsat 9 carries instruments similar to the other Landsat satellites, but it is the most technologically advanced satellite of its generation. 
• It can see more colour shades with greater depths than the previous satellites, helping scientists capture more details about our ever-changing planet.
• The instruments aboard Landsat 9 are the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2). 
  • They will measure different wavelengths of light reflected off the Earth’s surface.
• OLI-2 can see the light that we can’t see too. 
  • It captures sunlight reflected off Earth’s surface and studies the visible, near-infrared, and short wave infrared portions of the spectrum.
• TIRS-2 has a four-element refractive telescope and photosensitive detectors that capture thermal radiation and help study the Earth’s surface temperature.
• As the satellite orbits, these instruments will take pictures across 185 kilometers and each pixel will represent an area of about 30 meter X 30 meter.
• Landsat 9 will provide data that can help make science-based decisions on key issues such as impacts of wildfire, coral reef degradation, the retreat of glaciers, and deforestation.
• NASA is working in tandem with the other Landsat satellites, as well as European Space Agency partners who operate the Sentinel-2 satellites. They are getting a more comprehensive look at Earth than ever before. 
  • With these satellites working together in orbit, They will have observations of any given place on our planet every two days. 
  • This is incredibly important for tracking things like crop growth and helping decision-makers monitor the overall health of Earth and its natural resources

How will the satellite help monitor climate change?

• If a forest is affected by drought, it will be seen in Landsat images and can help the researchers decode the areas at risk. 
• Similarly during a wildfire, the Landsat images will capture the plumes of smoke and help study the extent of a burning. 
• The satellite images can also help recovery experts plan sites for replanting.
• Landsat images can also help identify water bodies affected by potentially harmful algal blooms. 
• According to NASA, scientists are now developing computer programs that would use Landsat and other satellite data to automatically warn lake recreation managers when blooms pop up.
• Landsat images have helped glaciologists study the melting ice sheets of the Antarctic and Arctic regions. 
• The images can help track cracks in the glaciers, movement of glaciers, and decode how further global warming will impact them.

How does Landsat store the images?

• Landsat satellites make contact with a ground station every few hours and offload their data.

The Indian express link:

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/landsat-9-nasa-satellite-climate-change-explained-7539631/

Question: Write a short note on Landsat 9 and its potential benefits in monitoring climate change.