Land Remote-Sensing Satellite, operated by the U.S. Earth Observation Satellite Company (EOSAT). Commercialized under the Land Remote-Sensing Commercialization Act of 1984, Landsat is a series of satellites (formerly called ERTS) designed to gather data on the Earth's resources in a regular and systematic manner. Objectives of the mission are: land use inventory, geological/mineralogical exploration, crop and forestry assessment, and cartography.

Restructured Federal agency responsibilities for the Landsat program are effective for the acquisition and operation of Landsat 7. New operating policy specifies that NOAA will be responsible for satellites after they are placed in orbit, NASA will be responsible for the development and launch of Landsat 7, and that the U.S. government will provide unenhanced data to users at no cost beyond the cost of fulfilling their data request.