Science

29 Years of Beautiful, Inspiring and Important Images of Earth from Space

The longest-operating Earth observing satellite is ending its mission after nearly 29 years, more than 150,000 orbits and 2.5 million images. Landsat 5 outlived its planned 3-year operation almost 10 times over, saving the continuity of the Landsat mission. Landsat 5's longevity became critical after Landsat 6 failed to reach orbit in 1993. To celebrate this mighty spacecraft's contribution to our understanding of the Earth, here are some of our favorite images Landsat 5 has taken over its three decades in space.
  • Myanmar
  • Mount Elgon
  • Belcher Islands
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myanmar
The longest-operating Earth observing satellite is ending its mission after nearly 29 years, more than 150,000 orbits and 2.5 million images. Landsat 5 outlived its planned 3-year operation almost 10 times over, saving the continuity of the Landsat mission. Landsat 5's longevity became critical after Landsat 6 failed to reach orbit in 1993. The U.S. Geological Survey was able to rescue the satellite from failures several times over the years, but recently a broken gyroscope has permanently hobbled the aging craft. Landsat 7, launched in 1999 and also well past its planned 5-year mission, is still keeping an eye on the planet until Landsat 8's launch, which is planned for February 2013. To celebrate this mighty spacecraft's contribution to our understanding of the Earth, here are some of our favorite images Landsat 5 has taken over its three decades in space. Above:

Mergui Archipelago, Myanmar

The Mergui Archipelago in the Andaman Sea consists of more than 800 islands. This natural-color image of the center portion of the archipelago was captured by Landsat 5 on Dec. 14, 2004.

Images: USGS/NASA