Landsat is the Land Remote Sensing Satellite Program managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Landsat Satellite series began in 1972 to gather information about land surface features of the planet. These satellites collect remotely sensed imagery of the Earth’s surface at moderate resolution. Landsat 1 was launched in 1972 as the Earth Resources Technology Satellite. It transmitted data until 1977. Landsat 2 was launched in 1975 and transmitted data until 1977. Landsat 3 was launched in 1978 and returned MultiSpectral Scanner (MSS) data until 1982, when NASA launched Landsat 4.