Landsat, USGEO, ESO: the American Earth observation ecosystem

Landsat satellite in orbit above the United States: continuous observation of the territory — Visualization of a **Landsat** satellite, cornerstone of American Earth observation since 1972, flying over the North American continent. The luminous flows symbolize decades of open data that fuel research, resource management and public decision-making.
Image source: astronoo.com (new window) : AI-generated image, public domain.

Abstract

Unlike Copernicus, which relies on a single, centralized program led by the European Union, the United States has developed a decentralized, multi-agency architecture for Earth observation. The Landsat program, the result of a partnership between NASA and the USGS, is its historical pillar with more than fifty years of continuous archives and open data since 2008. Around it gravitate NASA's scientific missions (EOS program, ESO), the operational satellites of NOAA (GOES, JPSS), the coordination framework USGEO, and a thriving commercial sector (Planet, Maxar). This article explores the inner workings of this ecosystem, its strengths, its limitations and its strategy in the face of Copernicus's rise.

Do the United States really have a "Copernicus"?

A question of definition

The question deserves to be asked, because the answer is not simple. Copernicus is an integrated program: a single brand, a common data policy, governance centralized by the European Commission and the ESA. The United States, for its part, does not have a single program bearing that name. Instead, it possesses an ecosystem of Earth observation, distributed among several federal agencies, university laboratories and private companies.

This ecosystem is no less powerful than Copernicus. It is simply organized according to a different logic: that of institutional specialization and complementarity between civil, scientific and commercial missions. Landsat is its most visible symbol, but it is only one piece of a much larger system.

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Landsat: the historical pillar and the functional equivalent

More than fifty years of continuous archives

The Landsat program is the world's oldest satellite Earth observation program. Launched in 1972 with Landsat 1, it is jointly managed by NASA and USGS. Since then, it has provided a continuous record of the land surface, making it a global scientific reference[reference:0].

In 2008, the USGS made a revolutionary decision: to open the entire Landsat archive to the public, free of charge. This decision removed the major historical obstacle to the massive use of the data and preceded the opening of Copernicus data by several years[reference:1]. Today, Landsat is often described as the functional equivalent of Sentinel-2 for the observation of emerged land, with comparable spatial resolutions (15 to 30 meters) and a similar open data policy[reference:2].

Landsat Next: the succession is assured

The program is already preparing for the post-Landsat 9 era. As part of the Sustainable Land Imaging (SLI), NASA and USGS are developing Landsat Next, a constellation of three satellites to be launched together around 2030-2031. These satellites should collect about 15 times more data than current missions, with a richer spectral coverage and an increased revisit frequency[reference:3].

The table of Landsat generations

The table below summarizes the main generations of Landsat sensors, their characteristics and their scientific contribution.

Evolution of Landsat sensors and their capabilities
Generation	Satellites	Sensor	Resolution	Key contribution
1st	Landsat 1-3	MSS	80 m	First multispectral archives
2nd	Landsat 4-5	TM	30 m (VIS-SWIR), 90 m (TIR)	Spectral and thermal improvement
3rd	Landsat 7	ETM+	15 m pan, 30 m multi, 60 m TIR	Addition of a panchromatic band
4th	Landsat 8-9	OLI / TIRS	15 m pan, 30 m multi, 100 m TIR	New blue and SWIR bands
5th	Landsat Next (2030)	Constellation of 3 satellites	Improved resolution and revisit	Data volume multiplied by 15

The coordination framework: USGEO and the National Plan

Inter-agency governance

If the United States has no single program, it does have a coordination mechanism: the United States Group on Earth Observations (USGEO). Created under the auspices of the NSTC and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), it is co-chaired by NASA, NOAA and USGS[reference:4].

USGEO's mission is to plan, assess and coordinate federal Earth observation activities, to promote data interoperability and to identify user needs. It periodically publishes a National Plan for Civil Earth Observations, the latest edition of which dates from December 2024[reference:5]. This plan defines strategic priorities and ensures the coherence of the entire system.

NASA's scientific missions: EOS and ESO

From the EOS program to the Earth System Observatory

Beyond Landsat, NASA leads a vast program of scientific Earth observation missions. The EOS (Earth Observing System) program, launched in the 1990s, gave rise to iconic satellites such as Terra and Aqua, equipped with the MODIS sensor, a 36-spectral-channel instrument that has become a reference for the study of the atmosphere, oceans and emerged land[reference:6].

NASA is now preparing the Earth System Observatory (ESO), a set of interconnected missions designed to provide a holistic, three-dimensional view of the Earth, from the ground to the top of the atmosphere. ESO relies on five priority observation domains identified by the decadal report of the National Academies of Sciences: surface biology and geology, aerosols, clouds and convection, water mass and ice, and atmospheric winds[reference:7].

The table of NASA's flagship missions

The table below presents some of NASA's major scientific missions in Earth observation, whether active or in development.

NASA scientific missions for Earth observation
Mission / Program	Status	Domain	Main contribution
Terra / Aqua (EOS)	Active	Atmosphere, oceans, land	MODIS, global reference
OCO-2	Active	Atmospheric carbon	Measurement of CO₂ from space
Earth System Observatory	In development	Climate, surfaces, atmosphere	Holistic 4D view of the Earth system
AOS	In development	Aerosols, clouds	Cloud-climate processes

NOAA's operational satellites

GOES and JPSS: weather and climate in continuous mode

The NOAA operates two complementary families of satellites. The GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites) provide continuous coverage of the Western Hemisphere from a geostationary orbit, with high temporal resolution imagery for weather forecasting and hurricane tracking[reference:8].

The JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System) are polar-orbiting satellites that provide global coverage twice a day, with essential data for numerical weather prediction, storm tracking and climate monitoring[reference:9]. These satellites are not "open" in the Copernicus sense, but their data feed public and commercial services worldwide.

The commercial ecosystem: an American specificity

Planet, Maxar and the others

One of the major differences between the American model and Copernicus lies in the weight of the commercial sector. The United States is home to the world's largest private Earth observation constellations: Planet Labs with its hundreds of small satellites, Maxar (formerly DigitalGlobe) with its WorldView satellites at very high resolution (up to 0.31 meters), as well as BlackSky and Capella Space for radar[reference:10].

NASA and the U.S. government integrate these actors into their system through commercial data purchase programs, such as the CSDA. This hybrid approach, which combines public missions and private capabilities, is a distinctive feature of the American model[reference:11].

Strengths and limitations of the American model

A decentralized but fragmented power

The American model has considerable assets. Landsat offers unmatched historical depth, with more than fifty years of continuous archives. NASA's scientific missions push the frontiers of knowledge, while NOAA's satellites provide daily operational monitoring. The commercial sector, finally, brings a responsiveness and resolution that public programs cannot always match.

But this decentralization has a downside: the absence of a single brand, a single portal and a homogeneous data policy. Users seeking data must navigate between Earthdata (NASA), USGS EarthExplorer, NOAA CLASS and commercial platforms. This fragmentation, which does not exist with Copernicus, can be an obstacle for certain uses.

Key takeaways

The United States does not have an "American Copernicus" in the sense of a single, centralized program. It has better, or at least different: a decentralized ecosystem that combines the historical Landsat pillar, NASA's scientific missions, NOAA's operational satellites, USGEO coordination and the power of the commercial sector.

This model has its strengths, notably historical depth and sensor diversity, and its weaknesses, in particular the fragmentation of data access. But it has proven its robustness and its capacity for innovation. At a time when Copernicus and CHEOS are structuring their own ecosystems, the United States continues to play a leading role, not with a single program, but with a network architecture that remains a global reference.

References

FAQ: Earth observation in the United States

What is the American equivalent of Copernicus?

There is no single program equivalent to Copernicus. The closest functional equivalent is the Landsat program (NASA/USGS), which has provided open land observation data since 1972. But the American ecosystem also includes NASA's scientific missions (EOS, ESO), NOAA's operational satellites (GOES, JPSS) and commercial constellations.

Is Landsat free?

Yes. Since 2008, all Landsat data are available freely and openly via the USGS portal (EarthExplorer) and other platforms. This decision was pioneering and helped democratize access to Earth observation data[reference:12].

What is USGEO?

The USGEO is the U.S. inter-agency coordination mechanism for civil Earth observations. It is co-chaired by NASA, NOAA and USGS, and publishes the National Plan for Civil Earth Observations[reference:13].

What is the Earth System Observatory?

The ESO is a set of NASA space missions designed to provide a holistic, three-dimensional view of the Earth system, from the ground to the atmosphere. It relies on five priority observation domains and is to be deployed before the end of the decade[reference:14].

What is the difference between Landsat and Sentinel-2?

Both provide optical images at medium resolution (10-30 meters) for land observation, and both are free and open. Landsat offers an older historical depth (since 1972), while Sentinel-2 offers better spatial resolution (10 meters versus 30 meters) and more frequent revisit within the Copernicus framework.

Do the United States have radar satellites?

Yes, but mainly through the commercial sector. Companies such as Capella Space, ICEYE US and Umbra operate radar constellations. NASA also purchases commercial radar data through the CSDA program[reference:15].

Is the American model more fragmented than Copernicus?

Yes, unquestionably. Data are distributed across several portals (Earthdata, EarthExplorer, NOAA CLASS) and several agencies, without a fully homogeneous data policy. This fragmentation is the price of decentralization, but it does not prevent the American ecosystem from being one of the most powerful in the world.