The combined Landsat 8 + Landsat 9 collect data every 8 days

Landsat 9 was successfully launched on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. It is one part of Landsat Program in partnership between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Landsat 9 joints Landsat 8 already in orbit since February 11, 2013. Landsat is the only satellite that shows the global land surface at a moderate scale in order to let you observe both natural and human-induced change. Landsat 9 has a design very similar to Landsat 8’s. Landsat 9 is close to Landsat 8 with a similar design. The satellite collects than the past Landsats more data to be added to the Landsat global land archive. Nasa Landsat science talks around 1,400 scences per day for both. Landsat 9 now collects data at the same rate as Landsat 8

The Landsat 9 is designed to capture more data. Two new bands have been added over Landsat 8. The satellite carries two instruments that capture imagery : Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2) and Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2). The first one will produce stunning images of our home planet and the other one is dedicated to the temperatures. Landsat 9’s TIRS-2 instrument can measure the temperature of our planet’s ground and water (Nasa Landsat Science, 2020). Here are some facts :

• Orbit Altitude: 438 miles (705 kilometers)
• Coverage of Earth: Every 16 days
• Orbit Duration: 99 minutes
• Image Data: > 700 scenes per day
• Spacecraft Speed: 16,760 mi/hr (26,972 km/hr)
• Radiometric Resolution: 14-bit
• Two instruments : OLI-2 and TIRS-2

When building Landsat legacy over 50 years, the first satelitte was lanched in 1972, Landsat 1. At this date Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 are still running. Landsat 9 data are free to for download from Machine to Machine (M2M), LandsatLook and EarthExplorer.

Reference:
Landsat 9 earth from space. Brochure