Earth Observation Satellites from NASA

NASA Agency Summary

Agency Information

Agency Name Full

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

CEOS Member

yes

Agency Country

U.S.A.

Agency Website

www.nasa.gov

Agency Mission Timeline

click here

Agency Series

Series	Missions
ESSA	ESSA-1, ESSA-2, ESSA-3, ESSA-4, ESSA-5, ESSA-6, ESSA-7, ESSA-8, ESSA-9
Jason	Jason-1, OSTM (Jason-2), Jason-3, Sentinel-6 A Michael Freilich, Sentinel-6 B
Landsat	Landsat 1, Landsat 2, Landsat 3, Landsat 4, Landsat 5, Landsat 7, Landsat 8, Landsat 9
NASA A-Train	Aqua, CloudSat, CALIPSO, OCO-2, Aura
NIMBUS	NIMBUS-1, NIMBUS-2, NIMBUS-3, NIMBUS-4, NIMBUS-5, NIMBUS-6, NIMBUS-7
TIROS	TIROS-1, TIROS-2, TIROS-3, TIROS-4, TIROS-5, TIROS-6, TIROS-7, TIROS-8, TIROS-9, TIROS-10

Agency Missions

Current Missions

timeline

Mission	Launch	EOL	Instrument(s)
LAGEOS-1	04 May 1976	May 2052	LRA (LAGEOS)
LAGEOS-2	22 Oct 1992	Oct 2052	LRA (LAGEOS)
Terra	18 Dec 1999	Sep 2027	ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS, MOPITT
Aqua	04 May 2002	Sep 2026	AIRS, AMSR-E, AMSU-A, CERES, HSB, MODIS
SCISAT-1	12 Aug 2003	Mar 2026	ACE-FTS, MAESTRO
Aura	15 Jul 2004	Sep 2025	HiRDLS, MLS (EOS-Aura), OMI, TES
Suomi NPP	28 Oct 2011	Dec 2028	ATMS, CERES, CrIS, OMPS, OMPS-L, VIIRS
Landsat 8	11 Feb 2013	Feb 2028	OLI, TIRS
GPM Core	27 Feb 2014	Sep 2026	DPR, GMI
OCO-2	02 Jul 2014	Sep 2026	Spectrometer (OCO-2)
SMAP	31 Jan 2015	Sep 2026	L-band Radar (SMAP), L-band Radiometer (SMAP)
DSCOVR	11 Feb 2015	Dec 2027	EPIC, ES, FC, NISTAR, PHA, PlasMag
Jason-3	17 Jan 2016	Dec 2025	AMR, DGXX-S, GPSP, LRA, POSEIDON-3B Altimeter
GOES-16	19 Nov 2016	Dec 2033	ABI, DCS (GOES-R Series), EXIS, GLM, Magnetometer (GOES), SEISS, SUVI
CYGNSS	15 Dec 2016	Sep 2026	DDMI (CYGNSS)
SAGE-III-on-ISS	19 Feb 2017	Sep 2026	SAGE-III
JPSS-1	18 Nov 2017	Dec 2030	ATMS, CERES, CrIS, OMPS, VIIRS
TSIS-1-on-ISS	17 Dec 2017	Sep 2026	TSIS-1/SIM, TSIS-1/TIM
GOES-17	01 Mar 2018	Dec 2030	ABI, DCS (GOES-R Series), EXIS, GLM, Magnetometer (GOES), SEISS, SUVI
GRACE-FO	22 May 2018	Sep 2026	LRI, MWI
ECOSTRESS-on-ISS	29 Jun 2018	Jan 2031	PHyTIR
ICESat-2	15 Sep 2018	Sep 2026	ATLAS
GEDI-on-ISS	05 Dec 2018	Jan 2031	GEDI
OCO-3-on-ISS	04 May 2019	Jan 2031	Spectrometer (OCO-3)
Sentinel-6 A Michael Freilich	21 Nov 2020	Dec 2027	AMR-C, DGXX-S, GNSS POD Receiver, GNSS-RO Receiver, LRA (Sentinel-6), Poseidon-4 Altimeter
Landsat 9	27 Sep 2021	Sep 2031	OLI-2, TIRS-2
NACHOS	19 Feb 2022	Jul 2026	NACHOS Hyperspectral Imager
GOES-18	01 Mar 2022	Dec 2038	ABI, DCS (GOES-R Series), EXIS, GLM, Magnetometer (GOES), SEISS, SUVI
EMIT-on-ISS	14 Jul 2022	Jan 2031	EMIT
JPSS-2	10 Nov 2022	Dec 2030	ATMS, CrIS, OMPS, OMPS-L, VIIRS
SWOT	16 Dec 2022	Nov 2025	AMR-S, DGXX-S, GPSP, Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn), LRA, POSEIDON-3C Altimeter
TEMPO	07 Apr 2023	Jun 2025	Spectrometer (TEMPO)
TROPICS	08 May 2023	Oct 2025	TROPICS
PACE	08 Feb 2024	May 2027	HARP2, OCI, SPEXone
PREFIRE	25 May 2024	Dec 2025	TIRS (PREFIRE)
GOES-19	25 Jun 2024	Dec 2033	ABI, CCOR-1/-2, DCS (GOES-R Series), EXIS, GLM, Magnetometer (GOES), SEISS, SUVI

Approved Missions

timeline

Mission	Launch	EOL	Instrument(s)
NISAR	Jun 2025	Feb 2028	L-band SAR (NISAR), S-band SAR (NISAR)
Sentinel-6 B	Dec 2025	Dec 2032	AMR-C, DGXX-S, DORIS-NG, GNSS POD Receiver, GNSS-RO Receiver, LRA (Sentinel-6), Poseidon-4 Altimeter
CLARREO Pathfinder-on-ISS	Dec 2025	Dec 2030	CLARREO Pathfinder Reflected Solar
TSIS-2	Dec 2025	Dec 2030	TSIS-2/SIM, TSIS-2/TIM
PLT-2	Feb 2026	Aug 2029	MAIA, PLATiNO TIR
MAIA	Jun 2026	Jun 2029	MAIA
INCUS	Nov 2026	Jan 2029	DAR (INCUS), DMR (INCUS)
GLIMR	Dec 2026	Mar 2030	GLIMR Instrument
PolSIR	Jan 2027	Jan 2029	PolSIR
MAGIC/MCDO	Dec 2032	Dec 2040	LTI, MicroSTAR accelerometer

Planned Missions

timeline

Mission	Launch	EOL	Instrument(s)
SWFO-L1	2025	2030	CCOR-1/-2, Magnetometer, STIS, SWiPS
QuickSounder	2026	2029	ATMS
JPSS-4	2027	2034	ATMS, CrIS, Libera, OMPS, OMPS-L, VIIRS
Space Weather L1-A	2028	2033	COR, Magnetometer, STIS, SWiPS, XFM
SBG-TIR	2029	2033	OTTER Instrument on SBG-TIR, VIREO on SBG-TIR
AOS-PMM	2030	2034	JAXA Ku-Band Doppler Radar, SAPHIR-NG
HAWCSat	2031	2036	ALI, SHOW
SBG-VSWIR	2031	2034	SBG VSWIR Instrument
Landsat Next	2031	2035	LandIS
JPSS-3	2032	2039	ATMS, CrIS, OMPS, OMPS-L, VIIRS
Space Weather L1-B	2032	2038	COR, Magnetometer, STIS, SWiPS, X-ray Irradiance Sensor
MAGIC/NGGM	2032	2040	LTI, MicroSTAR accelerometer
Sentinel-6 C	2040	2046	AMR-C, DGXX-S, GNSS POD Receiver, GNSS-RO Receiver, LRA (Sentinel-6), Poseidon-4 Altimeter

Considered Missions

timeline

Mission	Launch	EOL		Instrument(s)
AOS-Sky	2031	2036		AOS-Sky Lidar, AOS-Sky Microwave Radiometer, AOS-Sky Polarimeter, AOS-Sky Radar, TICFIRE

Completed Missions

Mission	Launch	EOL	Instrument(s)
TIROS-1	01 Apr 1960	15 Jun 1960	VCS-NA, VCS-WA
TIROS-2	23 Nov 1960	22 Jan 1961	FPR, MRIR, VCS-NA, VCS-WA
TIROS-3	12 Jul 1961	28 Feb 1962	FPR, MRIR, VCS-WA
TIROS-4	08 Feb 1962	30 Jun 1962	FPR, MRIR, VCS-MA, VCS-WA
TIROS-5	19 Jun 1962	13 May 1963	VCS-MA, VCS-WA
TIROS-6	18 Sep 1962	21 Oct 1963	VCS-MA, VCS-WA
TIROS-7	19 Jun 1963	03 Jun 1968	FPR, MRIR, VCS-WA
TIROS-8	23 Dec 1963	01 Jul 1967	APT, VCS-WA
NIMBUS-1	28 Aug 1964	23 Sep 1964	APT, AVCS, HRIR
TIROS-9	22 Jan 1965	12 Jun 1968	VCS-WA
TIROS-10	02 Jul 1965	01 Jul 1967	VCS-WA
ESSA-1	03 Feb 1966	12 Jun 1968	FPR, VCS-WA
ESSA-2	28 Feb 1966	16 Oct 1970	APT
NIMBUS-2	15 May 1966	17 Jan 1969	APT, AVCS, HRIR, MRIR
ESSA-3	02 Oct 1966	02 Dec 1968	AVCS, FPR
ESSA-4	26 Jan 1967	05 May 1968	APT
ESSA-5	20 Apr 1967	20 Feb 1970	AVCS, FPR
ESSA-6	10 Nov 1967	03 Dec 1969	APT
ESSA-7	16 Aug 1968	10 Mar 1970	AVCS, FPR
ESSA-8	15 Dec 1968	12 Mar 1976	APT
ESSA-9	26 Feb 1969	12 Nov 1972	AVCS, FPR
NIMBUS-3	14 Apr 1969	22 Jan 1972	IRIS
NIMBUS-4	15 Apr 1970	30 Sep 1980	BUV, IRIS
Landsat 1	23 Jul 1972	02 Jan 1978	RBV
NIMBUS-5	11 Dec 1972	29 Mar 1983	ESMR (Nimbus-5), ITPR, NEMS, SCMR, SCR (Nimbus-5) , THIR
Landsat 2	22 Jan 1975	25 Feb 1982	RBV
NIMBUS-6	12 Jun 1975	29 Mar 1983	LRIR
Landsat 3	05 Mar 1978	21 Mar 1983	RBV
SeaSat	26 Jun 1978	08 Oct 1978	ALT (SeaSat), L-Band SAR, LRR (SeaSat), SASS, SMEI, SMMR, VIRR (SeaSat)
NIMBUS-7	24 Oct 1978	01 Oct 1994	CZCS, LIMS, SAGE II, SAMS, SBUV/1, SMMR, TOMS
SAGE/AEM-2	18 Feb 1979	19 Nov 1981	SAGE I
Landsat 5	01 Mar 1984	05 Jun 2013	MSS (Landsat), TM
ERBS	05 Oct 1984	14 Oct 2005	ERBE, SAGE II
UARS	15 Sep 1991	14 Dec 2005	ACRIM II, CLAES, HALOE, HRDI, ISAMS, MLS, PEM, SOLSTICE, SUSIM (UARS), WINDII
Topex-Poseidon	10 Aug 1992	18 Jan 2006	DORIS, LRA, POSEIDON-1 (SSALT-1), TMR, TOPEX
TOMS-EP	02 Jul 1996	18 Jan 2006	TOMS
ADEOS	17 Aug 1996	30 Jun 1997	ADEOS Comms, AVNIR, ILAS, IMG, NSCAT, OCTS, POLDER, RIS, SEM (JAXA), TOMS
TRMM	27 Nov 1997	08 Apr 2015	CERES, LIS, PR, TMI, VIRS
GFO	10 Feb 1998	22 Oct 2008	GFO-RA, LRA, TRSR, WVR
Landsat 7	15 Apr 1999	19 Jan 2024	ETM+
QuikSCAT	19 Jun 1999	02 Oct 2018	SeaWinds
ACRIMSAT	20 Dec 1999	14 Dec 2013	ACRIM III
NMP EO-1	21 Nov 2000	30 Mar 2017	ALI, Hyperion, LEISA AC
QuikTOMS	21 Sep 2001	21 Sep 2001	TOMS
Jason-1	09 Dec 2001	03 Jul 2013	DORIS-NG, JMR, LRA, POSEIDON-2 (SSALT-2), TRSR
GRACE	17 Mar 2002	27 Oct 2017	GRACE instrument
ADEOS-II	14 Dec 2002	25 Oct 2003	ADEOS Comms, AMSR, GLI, ILAS-II, POLDER-2, SeaWinds
ICESat	12 Jan 2003	14 Aug 2010	GLAS
SORCE	25 Jan 2003	25 Feb 2020	SIM, SOLSTICE, TIM, XPS
CloudSat	28 Apr 2006	20 Dec 2023	CPR (CloudSat)
CALIPSO	28 Apr 2006	31 Jul 2023	CALIOP, IIR, WFC
OSTM (Jason-2)	20 Jun 2008	10 Oct 2019	AMR, DGXX, GPSP, LRA, POSEIDON-3
OCO	24 Feb 2009	24 Feb 2009	Spectrometer (OCO)
HICO-on-ISS	25 Sep 2009	25 Sep 2014	HICO
SAC-D/Aquarius	10 Jun 2011	08 Jun 2015	Aquarius L-Band radiometer, Aquarius L-Band Scatterometer, CARMEN-1 (ICARE), CARMEN-1 (SODAD), DCS (SAC-D), HSC (SAC-D/Aquarius), Lagrange, MWR, NIRST, ROSA, TDP
TCTE	19 Nov 2013	30 Jun 2019	TIM
RapidScat-on-ISS	20 Sep 2014	19 Aug 2016	RapidScat
CATS-on-ISS	10 Jan 2015	30 Sep 2018	CATS
LIS-on-ISS	19 Feb 2017	30 Oct 2023	LIS
TROPICS Pathfinder	30 Jun 2021	17 Dec 2023	TROPICS
LLITED	15 Apr 2023	28 Aug 2024	-

Agency Instruments

Operational Instruments

Instrument	Mission(s)
A-DCS3	NOAA-19, Metop-B, Metop-C, NOAA-9, NOAA-10, NOAA-11, NOAA-13, NOAA-16, NOAA-17, NOAA-12, NOAA-14, NOAA-15, Metop-A, NOAA-18, SARAL
AIRS	Aqua
AMR	OSTM (Jason-2), Jason-3
AMR-C	Sentinel-6 A Michael Freilich, Sentinel-6 B, Sentinel CRISTAL-A, Sentinel CRISTAL-B, Sentinel-6 C
AMR-S	SWOT
AMSU-A	Aqua
ASTER	Terra
ATLAS	ICESat-2
ATMS	JPSS-1, JPSS-2, JPSS-3, JPSS-4, QuickSounder, NPOESS-1, NPOESS-3, NPOESS-5, Suomi NPP
CCOR-1/-2	GOES-19, SWFO-L1
CERES	JPSS-1, NPOESS-1, NPOESS-5, TRMM, Terra, Aqua, Suomi NPP
COWVR	STP-H8-on-ISS
DDMI (CYGNSS)	CYGNSS
EMIT	EMIT-on-ISS
EPIC	DSCOVR
ES	DSCOVR
FC	DSCOVR
GMI	GPM Constellation, GPM Core
GNSS-RO Receiver	Sentinel-6 A Michael Freilich, Sentinel-6 B, Sentinel-6 C
GPSP	SWOT, OSTM (Jason-2), Jason-3
GPSRO (Terra-SAR)	TerraSAR-X
HARP2	PACE
Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn)	SWOT
L-band Radiometer (SMAP)	SMAP
LRA	SWOT, Topex-Poseidon, Jason-1, OSTM (Jason-2), GFO, Jason-3
LRA (Sentinel-6)	Sentinel-6 A Michael Freilich, Sentinel-6 B, Sentinel-6 C
LRI	GRACE-FO, MC-C, MC-S
MISR	Terra
MLS (EOS-Aura)	Aura
MODIS	Terra, Aqua
MOPITT	Terra
MWI	GRACE-FO
NACHOS Hyperspectral Imager	NACHOS
NISTAR	DSCOVR
OCI	PACE, ACE
OLI	Landsat 8
OLI-2	Landsat 9
OMI	Aura
OMPS-L	JPSS-2, JPSS-3, JPSS-4, Suomi NPP
PHA	DSCOVR
PHyTIR	ECOSTRESS-on-ISS
PlasMag	DSCOVR
POSEIDON-3C Altimeter	SWOT
Poseidon-4 Altimeter	Sentinel-6 A Michael Freilich, Sentinel-6 B, Sentinel-6 C
SAGE-III	SAGE-III-on-ISS
Spectrometer (OCO-2)	OCO-2
Spectrometer (OCO-3)	OCO-3-on-ISS
Spectrometer (TEMPO)	TEMPO
SPEXone	PACE
TEMPEST	STP-H8-on-ISS
TIRS	Landsat 8
TIRS (PREFIRE)	PREFIRE
TIRS-2	Landsat 9
TROPICS	TROPICS, TROPICS Pathfinder
TSIS-1/SIM	NPOESS-1, NPOESS-6, Free Flyer-2, TSIS-1-on-ISS
TSIS-1/TIM	TSIS-1-on-ISS
VIIRS	JPSS-1, JPSS-2, JPSS-3, JPSS-4, NPOESS-2, NPOESS-1, NPOESS-3, NPOESS-4, NPOESS-5, NPOESS-6, DWSS, Suomi NPP

Prototype Instruments

None.

Instruments Being Developed

Approved Instruments

Instrument	Mission(s)
AMR-CR	Sentinel CRISTAL-A, Sentinel CRISTAL-B, S3NGT-A, S3NGT-B
L-band SAR (NISAR)	NISAR
LTI	MAGIC/MCDO, MAGIC/NGGM
MAIA	MAIA

Proposed Instruments

TBD Instruments

None.

No Longer Operational Instruments

Instrument	Mission(s)
ACRIM II	UARS
ACRIM III	ACRIMSAT
ALI	NMP EO-1
ALT (SeaSat)	SeaSat
AMSR-E	Aqua
APS	Glory
Aquarius L-Band radiometer	SAC-D/Aquarius
Aquarius L-Band Scatterometer	SAC-D/Aquarius
BUV	NIMBUS-4
CALIOP	CALIPSO
CATS	CATS-on-ISS
CHAMP GPS Sounder	CHAMP
CLAES	UARS
CPR (CloudSat)	CloudSat
CZCS	NIMBUS-7
ERBE	NOAA-9, NOAA-10, ERBS
ESMR (Nimbus-5)	NIMBUS-5
ETM+	Landsat 7
FPR	NOAA-1, TIROS M (ITOS-1), ESSA-1, ESSA-3, ESSA-5, ESSA-7, ESSA-9, TIROS-2, TIROS-3, TIROS-4, TIROS-7
GEDI	GEDI-on-ISS
GFO-RA	GFO
GLAS	ICESat
GOLPE	SAC-C
GOX	COSMIC-1 FM1, COSMIC-1 FM2, COSMIC-1 FM3, COSMIC-1 FM4, COSMIC-1 FM5, COSMIC-1 FM6
GPSDR	SAC-A
GPSRO (Oersted)	Oersted
GRACE instrument	GRACE-II, GRACE
HALOE	UARS
HICO	HICO-on-ISS
HiRDLS	Aura
HRDI	UARS
HRIR	NIMBUS-1, NIMBUS-2
HSB	Aqua
Hyperion	NMP EO-1
IRIS	NIMBUS-3, NIMBUS-4
ISAMS	UARS
ITPR	NIMBUS-5
JMR	Jason-1
L-band Radar (SMAP)	SMAP
L-Band SAR	SeaSat
LEISA AC	NMP EO-1
LIMS	NIMBUS-7
LIS	TRMM
LIS	LIS-on-ISS
LRIR	NIMBUS-6
LRR (SeaSat)	SeaSat
MLS	UARS
MRIR	NIMBUS-2, TIROS-2, TIROS-3, TIROS-4, TIROS-7
MSS (Landsat)	Landsat 4, Landsat 5
NEMS	NIMBUS-5
NSCAT	ADEOS
PEM	UARS
PR	TRMM
RapidScat	RapidScat-on-ISS
SAGE I	SAGE/AEM-2
SAGE II	ERBS, NIMBUS-7
SAGE III	Meteor-3M
SAMS	NIMBUS-7
SASS	SeaSat
SBUV/1	NIMBUS-7
SCMR	NIMBUS-5
SCR (Nimbus-5)	NIMBUS-5
SeaWinds	ADEOS-II, QuikSCAT
SIM	SORCE
SMEI	SeaSat
SMMR	NIMBUS-7, SeaSat
SOLSTICE	UARS, SORCE
Spectrometer (OCO)	OCO
SUSIM (UARS)	UARS
TES	Aura
THIR	NIMBUS-5
TIM	Glory, SORCE, TCTE
TM	Landsat 4, Landsat 5
TMI	TRMM
TMR	Topex-Poseidon
TOMS	Meteor-3 N5, TOMS-EP, ADEOS, NIMBUS-7, QuikTOMS
TOPEX	Topex-Poseidon
TRSR	Jason-1, GFO
VCS-MA	TIROS-4, TIROS-5, TIROS-6
VCS-NA	TIROS-1, TIROS-2
VCS-WA	ESSA-1, TIROS-9, TIROS-8, TIROS-1, TIROS-2, TIROS-3, TIROS-4, TIROS-5, TIROS-6, TIROS-7, TIROS-10
VIRR (SeaSat)	SeaSat
VIRS	TRMM
WFC	CALIPSO
WINDII	UARS
WindSat	CORIOLIS
WVR	GFO
XPS	SORCE

Instrument	Mission(s)
AOS-Sky Lidar	AOS-Sky
AOS-Sky Microwave Radiometer	AOS-Sky
AOS-Sky Polarimeter	AOS-Sky
AOS-Sky Radar	AOS-Sky
LandIS	Landsat Next
Magnetometer	SWFO-L1, Space Weather L1-A, Space Weather L1-B
STIS	SWFO-L1, Space Weather L1-A, Space Weather L1-B
SWiPS	SWFO-L1, Space Weather L1-A, Space Weather L1-B