NASA's Landsat 9 shows how the world's surface is changing. Here are the photos

Nov 10, 2021

a view looking down from space on the Earth's surface

The latest images taken by Landsat 9, launched by NASA, add to 50 years of space-based Earth observation. Image: UNSPLASH/ActionVance

Michelle Cheng

Reporter, Quartz

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a satellite view of remote coastal islands and inlets of the Kimberly region of Western Australia taken by Landsat 9

Remote coastal islands and inlets of the Kimberly region of Western Australia. In the top middle section of the image, the Mitchell River carves through sandstone, while to the left Bigge Island and the Coronation Islands stand out in the Indian Ocean. Image: NASA/USGS

a satellite view of the Western US taken by Landsat 9

In the Western US, in places like the Navajo Nation as seen in this Landsat 9 image, Landsat and other satellite data help people monitor drought conditions and manage irrigation water. Image: NASA/USGS

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The city of Kathmandu, Nepal, seen at the bottom left of this Landsat 9 image, lies in a valley south of the Himalayan Mountains between Nepal and China. Glaciers, and the lakes formed by glacial meltwater, are visible in the top middle of this image. Image: NASA/USGS

a comparison of 4 different Landsat 9 images

The top left shows snow and glaciers in in the Himalayan mountains, leading to the flat Tibetan Plateau to the north. The bottom left shows the brown and green rectangles of farm fields in southern Ontario, sandwiched between Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair. The blue-white color in top right image shows cooler surface temperatures, while the orange-red indicates warmer surface temperatures. The white and grey rectangles in the bottom right image are produce greenhouses. Image: NASA/USGS

a Landsat 9 image of both Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario,

Sediments swirl in Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair in this Landsat 9 image of both Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, from Oct. 31. The Great Lakes serve as sources of freshwater, recreational activity, transport, and habitat for the upper-midwestern United States, and water quality remains a high priority. Image: NASA/USGS

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