Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

plus comparative ‘overlay’ images over time, Landsat
allows scientists to detect and evaluate environmental
change over time. Often, this baseline knowledge is
represented in the form of a map. The first Landsatderived
map was produced in 1972. Since that
time, Landsat-derived maps have been used to aid
navigation of poorly charted areas, especially in the
Arctic and Antarctic regions, to map geological faults
and fracture zones and to find previously unmapped
volcanic fields.
534 Landsat Program records: Multispectral Scanner (MSS) sensors
In 1975, NASA administrator Dr James Fletcher predicted
that if one space-age development would save the world,
it would be Landsat and its successor satellites. In recent
years Landsat data have emerged as critical to the
discovery, monitoring and understanding of changes
to the Earth’s surface caused by climate, human impact
or natural disasters. Indeed, the historical and scientific
value of Landsat data record increases with time. The
societal benefits derived from worldwide uses of Landsat
data are well documented and include the following