[NASA] New Landsat Science Team Announced

SpaceMan · December 17, 2025

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The U.S. 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 a planned 2026-2030 term.

The team brings together experts from universities, private industry, and federal and international agencies to help the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA ensure Landsat continues delivering trusted, publicly available data that supports disaster response, agricultural management, water resources, land stewardship, and national security.

Science Focus Areas 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 improved data products, expanded applications and strategic insight that helps the Landsat program continue to serve the public effectively.

The Landsat Science Team will provide collective analysis and advice on a range of priority issues as defined by the USGS and NASA. In addition, each team member will lead research on a variety of topical areas deemed to be 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 look at improving data processing pipelines and interoperability with international satellite systems to support integrated Earth observations. Several studies are focused on land-surface processes, including crop condition, evapotranspiration, soil and residue detection, and non-photosynthetic vegetation, which support agricultural monitoring and conservation.

Water cycle and aquatic focused research includes inland and coastal water-quality mapping, harmful algal bloom detection, and refined snow cover characterization. Additional studies address fire monitoring, volcanic activity, and geothermal systems. Other work is centered on developing tools that help translate Landsat data into actionable products for science, management, and policy.

The Landsat Science Team members and their planned research:

Atmospheric Correction and Calibration

Pathfinding the steps to ensure global analysis ready consistent reflectance from the Landsat MSS to 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 (PI), 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), The ******* Aerospace Center (DLR)

Interoperability and Data Processing

Synergistic data processing pipelines for Landsat and European satellite missions

Dr. David Frantz (PI), Trier University
Dr. Patrick Hostert, Humboldt University of Berlin
Dr. Sebastian van der Linden, University of Greifswald
Dr. Dirk Pflugmacher, Humboldt University of 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 interoperable Landsat Analysis-Ready Surface Reflectance for Operational Land, Water and Antarctic Monitoring

Medhavy Thankappan (PI), Geoscience Australia
Dr. Kimberlee Baldry, Geoscience Australia
Dr. Courtney Bright, Geoscience Australia

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-PI), 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 US sustainable water management with Landsat

Dr. Forrest Melton (PI), NASA Earth Science Division

From leaf to Landsat: A multi-scale approach to developing information for agricultural management from Landsat Next

Dr. Kyle Kipper (PI), USDA Agriculture Research Service
Dr. Martha Anderson, USDA Agriculture Research Service

Measuring Agricultural Conservation Land Cover with Next Generation Earth Observation: Detecting Green Vegetation, Crop Residue, and Soil in the Context of Surface Moisture Variability

Dr. Dean Hively (PI), USGS Lower Mississippi Water Science Center

Tracking Crop Growth and Condition in Near Real-time Using Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 Data

Dr. Feng Gao (PI), USDA Agriculture Research Service

Water, Snow, and Aquatic Systems

Harmonizing inland and coastal water quality monitoring from the Landsat Program: Harmful algal blooms

Dr. Ryan O’Shea (PI), Science 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 Disturbance

Advancing fire monitoring with Landsat Next and Canada’s WildFireSat

Dr. Morgan Crowley (PI), ********* Forest Service

Volcanoes and Geothermal Systems

Characterizing/monitoring active volcanoes and geothermal systems with Landsat

Dr. Greg Vaughn (PI), USGS Astrogeology Science Center

Science 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), ********* Forest Service