,,iii  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #gba  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bf1
 #bjbb,mr4 ,cardin 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,thune1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 and ,mr4     
,rounds7 submitted the following        
resolution2 which was considered and    
agreed to  ,,resolution  ,celebrating   
the #ejth anniversary of the inaugural  
launch of the ,landsat series of ,earth 
,observation satellites1 a joint mission
 of the ,united ,states ,geological     
,survey and the ,national ,aeronautics  
and ,space ,administration4  ,whereas1  
on ,july #bc1 #bjbb1 the ,united ,states
 ,geological ,survey 7referred to in    
this preamble as ,,usgs7 and the        
,national ,aeronautics and ,space       
,administration 7referred to in this    
preamble as ,,nasa7 celebrate the #ejth 
anniversary of the launch of the        
,landsat series of ,earth ,observation  
satellites 7commonly known as the       
,landsat program72 ,whereas1 through    
satellite remote sensing1 which in #aigb

 constituted a new scientific           
instrument1 the ,landsat program        
introduced a powerful tool for humankind
 to observe the resources of ,earth and 
the long-term changes in the condition  
of the land surfaces of ,earth2         
,whereas1 as the first civilian program 
in the ,united ,states for the          
systematic observation of the land      
surfaces of ,earth1 the ,landsat program
 has exemplified the highest ideals of  
the ,united ,nations ,committee on the  
,peaceful ,uses of ,outer ,space1 while 
helping to position the ,united ,states 
as a global leader in the field of      
satellite remote sensing2 ,whereas data 
and imagery of ,earth produced by the   
,landsat program have been used for #ej 
years in the ,united ,states and around 
the world-- 7#a7 to analyze crop        
conditions1 soil moisture1 and global   
crop production2  7#b7 to forecast the  
needs of the world to ensure food       
security2  7#c7 to monitor water        
consumption2  7#d7 to facilitate        

emergency responses to and post-event   
analyses of natural disasters1 including
 earthquakes1 volcanoes1 floods1        
tsunamis1 hurricanes1 and wildfires2    
7#e7 to monitor forests and changing    
land-use patterns2  7#f7 to track       
receding glaciers and changes in sea-ice
 extent2 and  7#g7 to survey urban      
growth2 ,whereas data and imagery       
produced by the ,landsat program have   
been applied by-- 7#a7 many ,federal1   
,state1 and local agencies1 particularly
 agencies within the ,department of the 
,interior and the ,department of        
,agriculture2 and  7#b7 the governing   
bodies of ,indian ,tribes and ,alaska   
,natives to solve difficult and         
expensive problems for their members at 
minimum cost to the taxpayers of the    
,united ,states2 ,whereas1 since #bjjh1 
calibrated on-board data and imagery    
produced by the ,landsat program have   
been made globally available at no cost 
to the public1 greatly amplifying the   
use of such data and imagery1 expanding 

growing markets for commercial remote   
sensing data and analysis1 providing the
 foundation for commercial innovations  
in land remote sensing1 and serving as a
 trusted reference for the calibration  
of instruments and improvement of       
commercial data products2 ,whereas data 
produced by the ,landsat program has    
been estimated to provide billions of   
dollars in value to the economy of the  
,united ,states each year2 ,whereas #ej 
years of continuous ,landsat            
observations-- 7#a7 supply the world    
with impartial1 fundamental evidence to 
support a scientific understanding of a 
changing global climate2 and  7#b7 form 
the basis for thousands of              
peer-reviewed1 scientific publications  
that have documented changes in the land
 surface of ,earth2 ,whereas data       
produced by the ,landsat program provide
 an invaluable common vocabulary and a  
shared set of references for the state  
of ,earth that can inform international1
 ,federal1 and local efforts to address 

difficult environmental and public      
policy issues2 ,whereas ,,usgs and      
,,nasa are currently developing mission 
concepts for ,landsat ,next1 the        
follow-on mission to ,landsat #i2       
,whereas ,landsat #i and the            
,sustainable ,land ,imaging program will
 build on and strengthen this key       
resource of the ,united ,states to      
provide a sustainable1 space-based      
system to extend and improve the        
#ej-year series of science-quality1     
global land imaging measurements        
produced by the ,landsat program--the   
longest time series of the land surface 
of ,earth2 and ,whereas1 during ,july   
#bjbb1 ,,usgs1 ,,nasa1 scientists1      
engineers1 land managers1 and the people
 of the ,united ,states will celebrate  
#ej years since the launch of the first 
,earth-observing satellite of the       
,landsat program3 ,now1 therefore1 be it
 ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 celebrates the
 #ejth anniversary of the inaugural     
launch of the ,landsat series of ,earth 

,observation satellites 7commonly known 
as the ,landsat program72  7#b7         
recognizes the scientific1 engineering1 
and analytical expertise of the ,united 
,states ,geological ,survey 7referred to
 in this resolution as ,,usgs71 the     
,national ,aeronautics and ,space       
,administration 7referred to in this    
resolution as ,,nasa71 and the advisory 
,landsat ,science ,team2  7#c7          
recognizes the important contributions  
that data produced by the ,landsat      
program provides to decision-makers     
worldwide and the desire to continue the
 ,landsat program into the next #ej     
years through ,landsat ,next2  7#d7     
designates ,july #bc1 #bjbb1 as ,landsat
 #ejth ,anniversary ,day1 or            
,landsaturday2 and  7#e7 respectfully   
requests that the ,secretary of the     
,senate transmit an enrolled copy of    
this resolution to the ,director of     
,,usgs and the ,administrator of ,,nasa4