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Writer's pictureMiniWurm

Your name in Earth! (Landsat)


MiniWurm made from landsat imagery
MiniWurm has left his mark on the Earth... literally! (Credit: NASA)

If there's two things I love, its the world and myself!


To celebrate more than 50 years of Landsat, one of longest-running Satellite programmes in the world, NASA has combined its 'Earth feature that looks like a letter database' into a cool new tool where you can get your name spelled out!


The tool is aptly named: Your Name in Landsat: https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/apps/YourNameInLandsat-main/


The Landsat programme has been capturing images and providing data to the public since 1972. The Landsat are essentially really fancy space cameras. They are able to observe various forms of visible and infrared light, which can be processed into the beautiful images of our world, such as the ones above! The most recent edition, Landsat-9, was launched in 2021 and is expected to run until somewhere close to 2030.


Apart from just spelling out my name though, the Landsat missions have a ton of practical uses, too. They are NASA's eyes in the sky! We've been able to use Landsat to see big changes over time: the growth of sprawling cities, the shrinking of lakes and glaciers, or the growth and changes in forests. The images can also be used to manage things like fisheries, agriculture or even be used to assess flood or fire damages.


Lets celebrate 50 years of Landsat, and here's to 50 years more!

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