Earth-Observation Satellites

The first satellite of the Landsat program, which began the longest continuous record of Earth's land surface from space.

NASA's flagship Earth Observing System morning satellite, carrying instruments including MODIS and ASTER to study land, ocean, and atmosphere.

NASA's Earth Observing System afternoon satellite, focused on the water cycle — precipitation, evaporation, clouds, and ocean properties.

Japan's greenhouse-gases observing satellite — the first satellite dedicated to monitoring atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane from space — operated by JAXA with Japan's National Institute for Environmental Studies.

A NASA/USGS Landsat satellite carrying the Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor, continuing the multi-decade land-imaging record.

A Copernicus radar-imaging mission providing all-weather, day-and-night synthetic-aperture radar imagery of land and ocean.

A Copernicus optical-imaging mission delivering high-resolution multispectral imagery for land monitoring, agriculture, and disaster response.

A Copernicus mission monitoring ocean and land surface temperature, colour, and topography for climate and marine services.

A radar-altimetry mission continuing the decades-long record of global sea-surface height for oceanography and climate monitoring.

A NASA laser-altimetry mission measuring the elevation of ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, and vegetation to track a changing planet.

The latest Landsat satellite, launched in 2021 to work in tandem with Landsat 8 for an eight-day global revisit of the land surface.

A NASA–CNES mission surveying the height of Earth's surface water — oceans, lakes, and rivers — with unprecedented resolution.