Status Report on GEO Task AR-06 -09 Advocate

Status Report on GEO Task AR-06 -09 Advocate continuity for moderate-resolution satellite remote sensing, including support for a Landsat follow-on mission Presentation to GEO Architecture and Data Committee L. R. Pettinger, Task Point of Contact, [lpetting@usgs. gov] Seattle, Washington, USA 20 -21 July 2006 1

AR-06 -09 Task Team Members • Task Point of Contact: CEOS • Lead Organizations: – CEOS (represented by USGS) – USA (USGS AND NASA) – GTOS/GOFC-GOLD • Contributing Organizations: – – – Australia Germany Japan ESA IEEE 2

AR-06 -09 Task Title • Advocate establishing continuity for near real-time, 30 -m (or better) resolution, multispectral remote-sensing coverage everywhere on the Earth’s surface, including support for the launch of a Landsat-equivalent follow-on mission. 3

Evolution of AR-06 -09 Task • 29 November 2005 letter from J. Townshend (for GOFCGOLD and IGOS Land Theme, IGOL) to GEO raising issues re: moderate-resolution satellite sensing: – Need for more frequent temporal coverage and continuity of observations, and – Opportunity for GEO support for a mid-decadal global land survey • Task was included in draft GEO 2006 Work Plan • CEOS offered a revised work description, reflecting CEOS role in coordinating satellite contributions to GEO; relates to emerging CEOS Constellation concept for Land Imaging • USA requested to be included as a lead organization, reflecting its commitment to the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) and long-term continuity for operational land imaging (USGS and NASA) 4

Task Status • Participants have been confirmed • Lead Organizations are consulting to identify specific tasks for 2006 • Tasks will be presented to all participants for agreement • Work recognizes US commitment to Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) and will take advantage of US Data Gap Study 5

AR-06 -09 Work to be Performed [1] [According to June 2006 version of GEO WP] • Establish requirements for systems that meet the goal of providing 30 -m (or better) spatial resolution Landsat-type multispectral coverage of the Earth’s land surface. – Propose to identify existing published requirements and system specifications, e. g. : • • Landsat-7 Science Data Users Handbook LDCM Request for Proposals (coming soon) GOFC-GOLD product specifications GCOS Implementation Plan for Climate in Support of the UNFCCC--Systematic Observation Requirements for Satellite -based Products for Climate • Etc. 6

AR-06 -09 Work to be Performed [2] • Assess capability and operating status of the existing U. S. systems (Landsats 5 and 7) and international systems that provide Landsattype data. • Document current U. S. and international commitments and plans for future systems to meet these requirements; include systems planned by non-governmental entities. 7

Capabilities of Selected Systems [1] [from US Data Gap Study, June 2005; to be updated] * 8

Capabilities of Selected Systems [2] • Guide to Land Imaging Satellites, W. E. Stoney, Mitretek Systems http: //www. asprs. org/news/satellites/index. html • Being updated by Landsat Data Gap Study Team 9

Landsat Data Continuity Strategy Adjustment--OSTP Memorandum • In December 2005, the White House (OSTP) revised the August 2004 Landsat Strategy: – Removed Landsat from NPOESS due to design complexities – Authorized construction of a new Landsat “freeflyer” satellite (LDCM) – Initiated a Long-Term Continuity Study to identify Future Needs and Options for U. S. Land Imaging – Established the Future of Land Imaging Interagency Working Group (FLI IWG) 10

Status of Landsat-5 and -7 • Landsat 7 – Launched 15 April 1999 – ETM+ Scan Line Corrector (SLC) failed May 2003, USGS developed gap filler products – Full US and global data coverage still being collected – Fuel to be depleted in 2010; satellite could fail at any time • Landsat 5 – Launched 1 March 1984 – Solar array drive malfunctioned again in November 2005; backup amplifier problem March 2006 – Full US and Intl Cooperator operations resumed March 2006 – Fuel to be depleted in 2010; satellite could fail at any time • USGS/NASA Data Gap Study Team formed to investigate options for Landsat-like global data sets 11

AR-06 -09 Work to be Performed [3] • Analyze gaps in current operations and future plans in terms of launch dates and life expectancy, frequency of coverage, and spatial and spectral resolution characteristics. 12

Status of Selected Existing Systems [1] [from US Data Gap Study, June 2005; to be updated] 13

Alternate Data Source Options U. S. -Landsat/ETM+ U. S. -EO-1/ALI India-Resource. Sat/LISS III Japan-ALOS/AVNIR-2 Japan-Terra/ASTER France-SPOT/HRG India-Resource. Sat/AWi. FS China/Brazil. CBERS/MUXCAN China/Brazil. Germany- CBERS/IRMSS Rapid. Eye/REIS Note: For purposes of scene size comparison only; not actual orbital paths or operational acquisitions. High-resolution scenes too small to illustrate here. China/Brazil-CBERS/WFI England-DMC/MSDMC 14

NASA-USGS Mid-Decadal Global Land Survey • The USGS and NASA have worked together to create three global surveys of the Earth’s landmass from orthographically-corrected satellite data centered on specific timeframes: 1970’s, 1990, and 2000 • The current objective is to conduct a new global land survey centered on a 2005 -2006 epoch • The Project has 2 Phases: – Phase 1: Satellite tasking, ground station coordination, scene selection, data transfer, and ingest into the USGS archive • Landsat 5 TM as primary data source, Landsat 7 ETM+ as the secondary source • Other sensors: ALI, ASTER, AWIFS, … – Phase 2: Process the collected data into an orthorectified dataset compatible with previous surveys 15

AR-06 -09 Work to be Performed [4] 2007 Task: • Identify opportunities for cooperation in current mission operations and future mission planning to reduce gaps, increase frequency of coverage, and improve compatibility 16

“Advocacy”—the Role for GEO and its Members and Participating Organizations could play important catalytic & coordinating roles: • Support the US LDCM program by demonstrating the value of Landsat data to the GEO Societal Benefit Areas • Promote the development of the Mid-Decadal Global Land Survey • Establish user needs and define product requirements for operational land observations through communication with key user groups • Through CEOS, look for contributions to a comprehensive long-term operational system (CEOS Constellation concept) 17

Next Steps • Co-Leads develop final draft work plan • Team members telecon to agree on work plan, delegation of assignments • Coordination with US LDCM and Future of Land Imaging Working Group • Report progress and final 2006 report to GEO-III 18