New Landsat Science Team Announced
By USGS Landsat Missions
The US Geological Survey, in cooperation with NASA, has named the new Landsat science team that will support the world’s longest-running Earth observation mission for an expected duration of 2026 to 2030.
The team brings together experts from academia, the private sector, and federal and international agencies to help the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA ensure that Landsat continues to provide reliable, publicly available data that supports disaster response, agricultural management, water resources, land management, and national security.
Scientific areas of interest of the new Landsat science team (2026-2030)
The Landsat science team supports the USGS and NASA in maintaining scientific integrity, data quality, and mission continuity across the Landsat program. Their work informs mission planning and development and helps maximize the value of the Landsat archive through enhanced data products, expanded applications, and strategic insights that help the Landsat program continue to effectively serve the public.
The Landsat science team will provide collective analysis and advice on a series of priority questions as defined by the USGS and NASA. Additionally, each team member will lead research on a variety of topical areas deemed of interest to the Landsat program.
Research areas include atmospheric correction and calibration methods to ensure consistent reflectance across the Landsat archive. Team members will also seek to improve data processing pipelines and interoperability with international satellite systems to support integrated Earth observations. Several studies focus on soil surface processes, including crop condition, evapotranspiration, soil and residue sensing, and non-photosynthetic vegetation, which support agricultural monitoring and conservation.
Research focused on the water cycle and aquatic environment includes mapping inland and coastal water quality, detecting harmful algal blooms, and refining characterization of snow cover. Additional studies focus on fire monitoring, volcanic activity and geothermal systems. Other work focuses on developing tools to translate Landsat data into actionable products for science, management and policy.
Members of the Landsat science team and their planned research:
Atmospheric correction and calibration
Exploring the steps to ensure reflectance is consistent and ready for global analysis, from Landsat MSS to the Landsat Next era
- Dr David Roy (PI)Michigan State University
- Dr. Hankui K. Zhang, South Dakota State University
- Dr. Lin Yan, Michigan State University
Fully probabilistic atmospheric correction for Landsat
- Dr. Nimrod Carmon (PI)University of California, Los Angeles
- Dr. Gregory Okin, University of California, Los Angeles
Maintenance and refinement of the Land Surface Reflectance Code (LaSRC) for Landsat and Sentinel 2
- Dr Eric Vermote (IP)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Towards a harmonized atmospheric correction for EnMAP, CHIME, Landsat archive and Landsat Next observables
- Dr. Raquel De Los Reyes (PI)German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Interoperability and data processing
Synergistic data processing pipelines for European Landsat and satellite missions
- Dr. David Frantz (PI)University of Trier
- Dr Patrick Hostert, Humboldt University Berlin
- Dr Sebastian van der Linden, University of Greifswald
- Dr Dirk Pflugmacher, Humboldt University Berlin
- Dr. Cornelius Senf, Technical University of Munich
Stronger together – next generation interoperability for Landsat and Copernicus
- Dr. Peter Strobl (PI)European Commission
Maximizing the impact of analysis-ready Landsat interoperable surface reflectance for operational monitoring of land, water and Antarctica
- Medhavy Thankappan (PI)Geoscience Australia
- Dr Kimberlee Baldry, Geoscience Australia
- Dr Courtney Bright, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)
Agriculture, vegetation and land surface processes
Developing non-photosynthetic vegetation cover capabilities for Landsat Next
- Dr Phillip Dennison (Co-PI)University of Utah
- Dr. Michael Campbell (Co-Principal Investigator)University of Utah
Improving and synergizing Landsat evapotranspiration and albedo using multi-satellite observations
- Dr. Yun Yang (PI)Cornell University
- Dr. Zhuosen Wang, University of Maryland
OpenET: Supporting Sustainable Water Management in the United States with Landsat
- Dr. Forrest Melton (PI)NASA Earth Sciences Division
From leaf to Landsat: a multi-scale approach to developing information for agricultural management from Landsat Next
- Dr. Kyle Kipper (PI)USDA Agricultural Research Service
- Dr. Martha Anderson, USDA Agricultural Research Service
Measuring Land Conservation Agricultural Coverage with Next-Generation Earth Observation: Detecting Green Vegetation, Crop Residues, and Soil in the Context of Surface Moisture Variability
- Dr. Dean Hively (PI)USGS Lower Mississippi Water Science Center
Monitoring crop growth and condition in near real-time using harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 data
- Dr. Feng Gao (PI)USDA Agricultural Research Service
Water, snow and aquatic systems
Harmonization of inland and coastal water quality monitoring using the Landsat program: harmful algal blooms
- Dr. Ryan O’Shea (PI)Scientific Systems and Applications, Inc.
Next-generation snow cover mapping and establishment of a long-term ground validation site
- Dr. Edward Bair (PI)Leidos, Inc.
Fire and disruption
Advancing fire monitoring with Landsat Next and Canada’s WildFireSat
- Dr. Morgan Crowley (PI)Canadian Forest Service
Volcanoes and geothermal systems
Characterization/monitoring of active volcanoes and geothermal systems with Landsat
- Dr. Greg Vaughan (PI)USGS Astrogeology Science Center
Scientific applications and user engagement
From pixels to products to policy: creating and sharing information to advance science and applications with Landsat
- Dr. Mike Wulder (PI)Canadian Forest Service
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