Microsoft uploads NASA's Landsat and Sentinel data to Azure

"Microsoft has made NASA's Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) dataset available on Azure via the Windows giant's Planetary Computer platform. It seems an excellent use for all that Azure capacity - petabytes of global environmental data can be accessed through APIs or directly via Azure storage. "This flexible scientific environment allows users to answer questions about the data, and both build applications and use applications on top of the platform," Microsoft said."

"The HLS dataset is a vast archive of data from Earth-monitoring spacecraft, in this case NASA's Landsat 8 and 9 and the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellites. It's an invaluable tool for researchers looking into climate change, changes in land use, agricultural applications, and so on. Landsat 8 is getting a little long in the tooth, having been launched in 2013. It was joined in 2021 by Landsat 9."

"The HLS project was a major outcome of the 2016 Satellite Needs Working Group (SNWG). According to NASA, the Landsats can collect observations with 30-meter spatial resolution over a 16-day repeat period. The Sentinels provide 10 to 20-meter spatial resolution with a five-day repeat period. Combined through HLS, observations can be acquired at a 30-meter spatial resolution every two to three days, with the satellite data appearing as one collection."

Microsoft made NASA's Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) dataset available on Azure's Planetary Computer, offering petabytes of global environmental data accessible via APIs or Azure storage. HLS harmonizes observations from Landsat 8 and 9 and ESA's Sentinel-2 satellites into a single collection. Combined observations can deliver about 30-meter spatial resolution every two to three days by merging Landsat and Sentinel revisit cadences. Landsat 8 (launched 2013) is aging; Landsat 9 arrived in 2021 and a follow-up depends on final NASA science budgets. NASA currently funds HLS, but funding uncertainty amid a government shutdown could affect continuity; Microsoft did not confirm stepping in.

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