An astronaut suited up. NASA image.

The USGS is required by the Federal government to provide and archive remotely sensed data such as Landsat imagery. The National Space Policy of 2010 states that:“The Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), shall: conduct research on natural and human-induced changes to Earth’s land, land cover, and inland surface waters, and manage a global...

Landsat satellites provide high-quality, multi-spectral imagery of the surface of the Earth. These moderate-resolution, remotely sensed images are not just pictures, but contain many layers of data collected at different points along the visible and invisible light spectrum.