![]() Landsat MSS and RBV comparisons from the early 1980s The quality and impact of the data exceeded all expectations. Three hundred scientists were involved in the program from a wide array of Earth science disciplines, one-third of the participants were from countries outside of the United States. NASA created the Landsat Principal Investigators Program (LPIP) to search for applications of the new remote sensing technology. Of course, there is no point to data if it is not used. Along the coast in Canada, one newly discovered, uninhabited island was named “Landsat Island.” Country boundaries were redrawn, and entire islands were discovered. Landsat 1 data led to immediate and fundamental changes to practices of the cartographic and geographic communities. For the first time ever, scientists and resource management officials were able to see the full extent of damage from a fire in a single image while it was still burning. Within days of the launch, Landsat 1 collected imagery of an astounding 81,000-acre (327.8 square kilometers) fire burning in isolated, central Alaska. ![]() ![]() The RBV was supposed to be the prime instrument, but the MSS data was demonstrably superior. ![]() Inside Landsat 1 was a Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) and a secondary, experimental Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS). During its six-years, Landsat 1 acquired images covering about 75% of the Earth’s surface. The satellite was designed to last one year, but surpassed expectations by orbiting an additional five years before being decommissioned on January 6, 1978. ![]()
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