(land satellite) one of a series of US satellites designed (in 1972) to transmit multispectral images of portions of the earth's surface to ground stations —note the current Landsat Thematic Mapper sensor has seven broad wave bands, a spatial resolution of 30 m or 98 ft (for all bands except the thermal infrared), and a footprint of 185 by 170 km (115 by 106 mi)This definition last updated 07/17/2008