Australia Commits $207 Million to New Earth Observation Satellite Program

A satellite image shows bushfire smoke being blown away from Australia towards New Zealand on Jan. 2, 2020. in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. NOAA via Reuters

Australia has renewed its nearly 50-year partnership in the Landsat program, committing $207.4 million over four years and ongoing funding.

The money will be spent on enhancing satellite ground station facilities in the central Australian town of Alice Springs, and supporting advanced new data processing and analytics capabilities.

The opportunity arose through the Landsat 2030 International Partnership Initiative, announced during the December 2023 U.S. National Space Council meeting.

There have been nine Landsat satellites since 1972, of which eight are operational today. Landsat Next will add three more with new capabilities. As a result, partner countries will get more data more often, and at a higher resolution.

Landsat Next will significantly improve the image resolution of some of the original satellites. This means, for example, that 40 percent more detail can be captured for agricultural sowing, irrigation, and harvesting needs.

3 New Satellites Added

The Landsat Next program will consist of three satellites operating in tandem and is planned for launch in the early 2030s. It will consist of three identical observatories sent into orbit on the same launch vehicle.

They will be spaced 120 degrees apart at an orbital altitude of 653 kilometres (406 miles), allowing their respective trajectories to cover the entire surface of the Earth. The enhancements to the new satellites mean they will collect about 20 times more data than their predecessors.

For more than 50 years Landsat has provided the “longest continuous space-based record of Earth’s land in existence.”

Australia's Great Barrier Reef. This image was acquired by Landsat 7’s Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) sensor on August 14, 1999. This is a natural colour composite image made using red, green, and blue wavelengths (ETM+ bands 3, 2, & 1). Courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Landsat Team using data courtesy of the Australian ground receiving station teams.

Since 1972, Australia has had access to continuous data on ice melts, weather and temperature changes, and changes in the planet’s landscapes and freshwater sources. In 2020, the economic benefits of Earth observation data were estimated at over A$2.4 billion.

Earlier this year emergency services in Queensland facing Cyclone Kirilly depended on Landsat data to help mitigate potential flooding. Geoscience Australia has also used Landsat data gathered over decades to map changes in Australia’s shorelines.

Assistance in Emergencies

And during the Black Summer megafires of 2019/20, the worst bushfire season New South Wales has ever recorded, Landsat images were critical in predicting where the bushfires would be worst, and assisting in real-time response.

The new commitment builds on what Australia already does—the ground and data segments of Earth observation satellite systems. In fact, the country is a world leader in Earth observation data management.

Australia has an ideal geography for collecting data from the satellites via large dishes in Alice Springs, and a longstanding tradition of being the data custodians and stewards for its U.S. and European partners.

The Landsat Next agreement fulfils one aspect of the planned National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO) which was cancelled last year due to major budget cuts.