PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
January 2018
9
BOOK
REVIEW
Landsat’s Enduring Legacy: Pioneering
Global Land Observations from Space
Samuel Goward, Darrel Williams, Terry Arvidson,
Laura Rocchio, James Irons, Carol Russell, and
Shaida Johnston
American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing:
Bethesda, MD. 2017. XXXIV and 586 pp. diagrams, maps, photos,
images, 3 appendices, and an index. Hardback. $100 non-member
$80 member, $60 student, ISBN 1-57083-101-7.
Reviewed by:
Russell G. Congalton, Professor
of Remote Sensing & GIS, Department of Natural
Resources & the Environment, University of New
Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire.
LANDSAT’S ENDURING LEGACY
Pioneering Global Land Observations from Space
Landsat Legacy Project Team
Landsat’s Enduring Legacy: Pioneering Global Land Obser-
vations from Space
by Goward, Williams, Arvidson, Rocchio,
Irons, Russell, and Johnston could easily have been titled,
Ev-
erything You Might Ever Want to Know About Landsat
. It is
an amazing book that anyone who has worked with Landsat
imagery will want to have as a valued part of their library.
This book was 15 years in the making and tells the inside sto-
ry of the Landsat system from the early ideas following World
War II through the actual development of ERTS (Earth Re-
sources Technology Satellite) [i.e., Landsat 1] and all the way
up to today and Landsat 8. It would be virtually impossible to
find all of the information and background material provided
in this book in any other single place. The remote sensing
community owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the team
of authors and the many others that contributed to this book
for putting all this material together for all of us to share.
Landsat’s Enduring Legacy
is divided into an introduction,
six chapters, an epilogue, and three appendices. The book
begins with a Foreword by two giants in the Landsat com-
munity, Virginia Norwood and Vincent Salomonson, both
winners of the prestigious Pecora Award. The Introduction
provides the highlights regarding Landsat including the most
significant images and time series, the value of the synoptic
view, the power of the imagery archive, and a list of dedicat-
ed visionaries that took the concept to fruition. Each of the
first five chapters then covers a specific time period. Chap-
ter 1, entitled “The Vision – Earth Rising”, encompasses the
time right after World War II until the Launch of Landsat 1.
While I have been a student of remote sensing and Landsat
since 1979, there were many stories and information in this
chapter that were new and fascinating to me. Chapter 2, en-
titled “Beyond Expectations”, covers the period from 1972 to
1980. This chapter was so much fun to read as the potential
of what Landsat could do, especially the MSS (MultiSpectral
Scanner), became a reality. Reading about the responses of
so many of the true pioneers of this technology as they ex-
perienced first the shock and then the awe of what could be
accomplished reminded me of what a privilege it is to be part
of the remote sensing community. Chapter 3 was all about
Landsat in transition and the attempt to privatize the sat-
ellite during the 1980’s. While most of us suffered through
this period trying to find funds to buy Landsat images, again
there are more stories in this chapter than I was ever aware
of despite considering myself an active participant during this
tenuous time. The miracle that is Landsat 5 which acquired
imagery for well over 25 years is also described in this chap-
ter. Chapter 4 is entitled, “Light on the Horizon”, and covers
the period from 1992-1999. Landsat 4 all the way through to
7 are discussed in this chapter. During this time there were
a number of ups and downs as the Department of Defense
removed their funding of Landsat and Landsat 6 failed to
achieve orbit. However, there was more determination than
ever to collect a continuous imagery record of monitoring the
Earth. Also, during this time, OhioView – the precursor to
the AmericaView Program – was begun with the goal of shar-
ing imagery, experience, and remote sensing training at the
grassroots, state level. Chapter 5 completes the time periods
with the theme of “Approaching the Vision” from 1999-2013.
A number of highlights are covered in this chapter including
the launch of Landsat 7 with the ETM+ sensor and the fur-
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 84, No. 1, January 2018, pp. 9–13.
0099-1112/17/9–13
© 2017 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.84.1.9
