NASA believes in sharing its scientific findings openly. The information from its satellites is used by people all over the world to watch over the environment, deal with disasters, and study our climate. By being open and sharing what it learns with everyone, NASA helps make sure science is fair and benefits people everywhere.

In this article, we will go deeper about the Landsat 9 mission for UPSC CSE Examination which was launched to reach Earth (Sun-synchronous orbit), enhancing our understanding of its dynamics, importance in space science, and long-term mission utility.

• On September 27, 2021, the launch of Landsat 9 marked the commencement of a mission with far-reaching scientific goals.  
• Engineers and scientists have collaborated extensively to meet the missions key objective, which is to Continue Landsat data record with Landsat 8; improved calibration, requiring innovative technological solutions.  
• This flight is recognized as a Earth observation satellite, highlighting its overall importance and contribution.  
• Many people traveled from all over, hoping to see the amazing sight of the Atlas V 401 launching. 
• The rocket launched from Vandenberg SFB, SLC-3E, starting its space journey. 
• The entire mission took Ongoing (designed for 5-year mission) to complete. 
• The entire mission was overseen by NASA, USGS. 
• The mission was classified as Operational upon completion. 
• The mission had an estimated cost of ~$750 million (including launch and initial operations), aiming to expand humanity’s reach into deep space. 

Landsat 9 leverages Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2), Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2) to enable efficient, real-time space science and reduce reliance on Earth-based control.

Landsat 9 incorporated Replicated Landsat 8 design with improvements to enable autonomous decision-making and enhance adaptability in space environments. This comprehensive article on NASA Landsat 9 Space mission helps UPSC aspirants understand the full life cycle of a modern space mission which is relevant for GS Paper 2, GS Paper 3, GS Paper 4, and Essay.

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NASA Landsat 9 Space Mission Overview 

Also, Checkout Sunita Williams’ Missions to the International Space Station

Landsat 9 Space Mission Global Contributions

Landsat 9 highlights the role of Global network of ground stations in contributing to autonomous systems and shared space objectives.

• Northrop Grumman (built satellite), Ball Aerospace (OLI-2), (TIRS-2) played a vital role in building and launching the mission, contributing to its overall success. 
• With Free and open data policy via USGS, mission data became a shared resource, accelerating innovation within the global space research community. 
• The global significance of Landsat 9 was reflected in its role as Extends vital multi-decadal Earth observation record, influencing the way nations coordinate and plan space missions. 

Challenges & Risk in Landsat 9 Space Mission

• Mitigating risks like Ensuring data quality consistent with Landsat legacy was essential to ensuring the missions success and preserving scientific goals. 
• The final status of the spacecraft from Landsat 9 — Operational in Earth orbit — reflects NASA’s evolving approach to mission lifecycle management. 

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Mission Timeline of Landsat 9 NASA Space Mission

• The mission concept was officially proposed on Mid-2010s. 
• NASA held its formal design review meeting on April 2018. 
• The landing/flyby event occurred on Not applicable, and was closely monitored by scientists around the world. 
• On September 2026 (Planned end of 5-year prime design life), all core mission tasks were completed, marking the official end of the spacecraft’s planned journey. 

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UPSC Relevance of Landsat 9

• Understanding NASA’s space missions is crucial for UPSC aspirants, as these topics often feature under current science and tech developments.
• In GS Paper 3, NASA missions serve as examples to explain concepts such as innovation, sustainability, and the ethical use of advanced technologies.
• In the UPSC CSE General Studies Paper 4 (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude), NASA’s practice of making satellite and mission data publicly accessible can be used to illustrate institutional commitment to transparency.
• In the UPSC CSE Optional Papers, topics from NASA Space Missions are highly relevant across disciplines, offering insights into global cooperation, technological ethics, and environmental impacts—useful for Geography, PSIR, and Philosophy optionals alike.

Also, Learn about International Space Station (ISS)

Past UPCS Mains PYQs on NASA Space Missions

Q1. Launched on 25th December 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope has been much in the news since then. What are its unique features which make it superior to its predecessor space telescopes? What are the key goals of this mission? What potential benefits does it hold for the human race? (2022, GS Paper 3) 

Q2. How does the Juno Mission of NASA help to understand the origin and evolution of the Earth? (2017, GS Paper 1)

Q3. The safe landing of the ‘Curiosity’ Rover under NASA’s space programme has sparked many possibilities. What are those and how could humankind benefit from them? (2012, GS Paper 2)

Past UPCS Prelims PYQs on NASA Space Missions

Q1 [2022]: Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind the “Fractional Orbital Bombardment System” often talked about in the media?

(a) A hypersonic missile is launched into space to counter the asteroid approaching the Earth and explode it in space.

(b) A spacecraft lands on another planet after making several orbital motions.

(c) A missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth.

(d) A spacecraft moves along a comet with the same speed and places a probe on its surface.

Answer: (c) A missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth.

Explanation: While this question pertains to a military concept, NASAs research into orbital mechanics and space trajectories contributes to the broader understanding of such technologies.

Q2 [2020]: “The experiment will employ a trio of spacecraft flying in formation in the shape of an equilateral triangle that has sides one million kilometres long, with lasers shining between the craft.” The experiment in question refers to:

(a) Voyager-2

(b) New Horizons

(c) Lisa Pathfinder

(d) Evolved LISA

Answer: (d) Evolved LISA

Explanation: Evolved LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is a space-based gravitational wave observatory developed by ESA with contributions from NASA.

Q3 [2017]: What is the purpose of ‘evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA)’ project?

(a) To detect neutrinos

(b) To detect gravitational waves

(c) To detect the effectiveness of missile defence system

(d) To study the effect of solar flares on our communication systems

Answer: (b) To detect gravitational waves

Explanation: Evolved Laser Space Interferometer Space Antenna (ELISA) project was widely in the news due to the discovery of gravitational waves by the LIGO detector and the subsequent success of the LISA pathfinder project. The European Space Agency is leading the ELISA mission. The project is initiated to detect and accurately measure gravitational waves.

Q4 [2016]: What is ‘Greased Lightning-10 (GL-10)’, recently in the news?

(a) Electric plane tested by NASA

(b) Solar-powered two-seater aircraft designed by Japan

(c) Space observatory launched by China

(d) Reusable rocket designed by ISRO

Answer: (a) Electric plane tested by NASA
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Explanation: GL-10 is a remotely piloted plane similar to an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). It is designed and developed in such a way that it can take off like a helicopter and fly like an airplane. It is a battery-powered 10-engine with a wingspan of 3.05 meters. Eight electric motors are mounted on the wings. 2 electric motors are mounted on the tail. It weighs a maximum of 28.1 kilograms at takeoff. Due to its versatile vertical takeoff and landing ability, it produces less noise. It can be used as a UAV for small package delivery or vertical takeoff and landing, as well as long-endurance surveillance for agriculture, mapping, and other applications. Its modified scaled-up version can be used as a persons air vehicle.

Q5 [2015]: The term ‘Goldilocks Zone’ is often seen in the news in the context of:

(a) The limits of habitable zone above the surface of the Earth

(b) Regions inside the Earth where shale gas is available

(c) Search for the Earth-like planets in outer space

(d) Search for meteorites containing precious metals

Answer: (c) Search for the Earth-like planets in outer space

Explanation: The Goldilocks Zone is the livable zone around a star where the temperature is not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to exist on a planet. It is a metaphor for the childrens story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, in which a young girl selects from sets of three objects, eschewing the extremes (such as those that are enormous or small, hot or cold) and fixing on the one that is just right in the middle. The Goldilocks zone of the Sun surrounds the Earth. All of Earths water would freeze if it were found where the dwarf planet Pluto is; however, all of Earths water would boil out if it were found where Mercury is.

Also, Get to Know What was NASA's Parker Solar Probe Mission

UPSC Practice Questions on NASA Space Missions

Q1. Which of the following statements is are correct regarding the Perseverance Rover?
1. It is a mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation.
2. The mission is designed to better understand the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient life.
3. It is the most advanced, most expensive and most sophisticated mobile laboratory sent to Mars.
Select the correct answer by using the codes given below.
1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: 2 and 3 only
Solution:
In News:
NASA's Perseverance rover has successfully collected its first rock sample for return to Earth.
NASA has called it a perfect core sample.
NASA plans to launch more spacecraft to retrieve the samples collected by Perseverance.
Perseverance arrived in February 2021 at Mars' Jezero Crater, the site on an ancient lake - in search of rocks that might hold evidence of ancient life.
Key Points:
Perseverance Rover:
Launched by National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
The mission is designed to better understand the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient life. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
Perseverance is the most advanced, most expensive and most sophisticated mobile laboratory sent to Mars. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
It is different from previous missions because it is capable of drilling and collecting core samples of the most promising rocks and soils, and setting them aside in a cache on the surface of Mars.
Launch: 30th July 2020
Landing: 18th February 2021

Q2. The Parker Solar Probe Mission sometimes mentioned in the news recently is related to
1. Indian Space Research Organisation
2. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
3. European Space Agency
4. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Answer: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Solution:
In News:
Scientists using data from NASA's Parker Solar Probe have assembled the most complete picture yet of the inner structure and behaviour of the large cloud of space dust, known as the zodiacal cloud, that swirls throughout the solar system.
Key Points:
They found three dust populations in the cloud:
Most of the grains are being slowly pulled in toward the Sun (alpha-meteoroids).
The second population is generated as grains in the swirling cloud collide, creating fragments so small that they are pushed out of the solar system in all directions by pressure from sunlight (beta-meteoroids).
A third group, probably created when a tube of cometary debris collides with grains from the first two populations, is scattered out in a distinctive wedge shape.
Zodiacal clouds:
The sources of zodiacal clouds/interplanetary dust particles include at least: asteroid collisions, cometary activity and collisions in the inner Solar System, Kuiper belt collisions, and interstellar medium grains.
About the mission:
NASA's historic Parker Solar Probe mission will revolutionize our understanding of the sun, where changing conditions can propagate out into the solar system, affecting Earth and other worlds.
Parker Solar Probe will travel through the sun's atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions and ultimately providing humanity with the closest-ever observations of a star.

Q3. Consider the following statements with reference to the Inspiration4 mission:
1. It is a mission by NASA to take civilians into space.
2. Inspiration4 will orbit the Earth at a level higher than the International Space Station.
Which of the statements given above is are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: 1 only
Solution:
Statement 1 is incorrect: SpaceX announced that Inspiration4 mission is ready for launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in the USA.
It is the world's first all-civilian mission to orbit and involves taking a group of four private citizens to circle the Earth for three days, and then splashing down into the Atlantic Ocean.
Statement 2 is correct: Inspiration4 will orbit the Earth at 575km, higher than the International Space Station (408km) and the Hubble space telescope (547km).
This will be the farthest distance travelled by a crewed mission since 2009, when astronauts last went to repair the Hubble.

Q4. The term MUSE is talked about in the context of
1. genes introduced in the genetically modified crops for the expression of pest resistant properties
2. a constellation of nine spacecraft that will capture the first multiscale in-space measurements of fluctuations in the magnetic field and motions of the solar wind known as solar wind turbulence
3. AI induced technique of identification of paw print of wildlife tigers under CA|TS
4. forces driving the heating of the Sun's corona and the eruptions in that outermost region that are at the foundation of space weather

Answer: option 4
Solution:
In News:
Recently, NASA has selected two science missions - the Multi-slit Solar Explorer and HelioSwarm - to help improve our understanding of the dynamics of the Sun, the Sun-Earth connection, and the constantly changing space environment.
Key Points:
MUSE mission:
The MUSE mission will help scientists understand the forces driving the heating of the Sun's corona and the eruptions in that outermost region that are at the foundation of space weather. Hence, option 4 is correct.
The mission will offer deeper insight into the physics of the solar atmosphere by using a powerful instrument known as a multi-slit spectrometer to observe the Sun's extreme ultraviolet radiation and obtain the highest resolution images ever captured of the solar transition region and the corona.

Q5. Who among the following led the guidance, operations and control operations of NASA's Mission Mars 2020?
1. Swati Mohan
2. Anita Sengupta
3. Ashwin Vasavada
4. Kamlesh Lulla

Answer: Swati Mohan
Solution:
Key Points:
Swati Mohan led the guidance, operations and control operations of NASA's Mission Mars 2020.
She is an Indian-American aerospace engineer, the head of guidance, navigation and control operations at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory who recently landed the Perseverance rover on Mars.

Q6. The James Webb Space Telescope was launched in December 2021 through
1. Arian 2 rocket
2. Arian 4 rocket
3. Arian 5 rocket
4. Arian 1 rocket

Answer: Arian 5 rocket
Solution:
Key Points:
The James Webb Space Telescope is a 21st-century international space observatory that was launched on December 25, 2021.
It arrived just at Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point in January 2022.
An Ariane 5 rocket carried the James Webb Space Telescope into orbit.
The European Space Agency's contribution to the mission includes the launch vehicle and launch site.

Q7. Consider the following statements about the James Webb Space Telescope.
1. It is a large infrared telescope that will study every phase in the history of the Universe.
2. It will orbit the Earth as it is positioned at the second Lagrange point or L2, approximately 1.5 million kilometers away from the Earth.
Select the correct statement(s):
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. None of the above

Answer: 1 only
Solution:
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the agency's successor to the famous Hubble telescope is on a mission to study the earliest stars and peer back farther into the universe's past than ever before. Powerful space telescopes, like JWST or the Hubble Telescope, are often called time-machines because of their ability to view very faraway objects. The light coming from those objects, stars or galaxies, which is captured by these telescopes, began its journey millions of years earlier. Essentially, what these telescopes see are images of these stars or galaxies as they were millions of years ago. The more distant the planet or star, the farther back in time are the telescopes able to see. The JWST detects near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths, the light beyond the red end of the visible spectrum. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
The James Webb Space Telescope will not be in orbit around the Earth, like the Hubble Space Telescope is - it will actually orbit the Sun, 1.5 million kilometers (1 million miles) away from the Earth at what is called the second Lagrange point or L2. What is special about this orbit is that it lets the telescope stay in line with the Earth as it moves around the Sun. This allows the satellite's large sunshield to protect the telescope from the light and heat of the Sun and Earth. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

Q8. has successfully launched the pulsar navigation satellite XPNAV-1.
1. India
2. China
3. USA
4. Japan

Answer: China
Solution:
Key Points:
China successfully launched the pulsar navigation satellite XPNAV-1 in 2016.
The satellite XPNAV-1 stands for X-ray pulsar navigation.
It was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
The weight of the satellite is more than 200 kg and it operates in a Sun-synchronous orbit.

Q9. Consider the following statements regarding Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope:
1. Its objective is to aid in the understanding of dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics.
2. It will be situated or parked in the Lagrange point.
3. Its field view will be greater than the Hubble Telescope.
Which of the above statements are correct?
1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: 1, 2 and 3
Solution:
In News:
Scientists have created a gargantuan synthetic survey of a section of the universe that shows what we can expect from the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's future observations.
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope:
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope or Roman Space Telescope is a NASA deep space infrared observatory.
Objective:
RST will help answer essential astrophysics questions about dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. Hence statement 1 is correct.
It is set to launch around 2026 or 2027.
The mission is projected to last for five years.
RST will be situated at Lagrange point 2, a stable gravitational point between Earth and the Sun. Hence statement 2 is correct.
Features of the Mission:
The primary mirror of the RST has a diameter of 2.4 meters, the same size as the mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope.
It will have a field of view that is 100 times greater than the Hubble infrared instrument, capturing more of the sky with less observing time. Hence statement 3 is correct.
Roman's gigantic field of view will enable the mission to create infrared images that are around 200 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope.

Q10. Who among the following are among the 4 astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II as announced by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency on 4 April 2023?
1. Jeremy Hansen
2. Victor Glover
3. Christina Koch
4. Reid Wiseman

1. 1, 2 and 3
2. 1, 3 and 4
3. 2, 3 and 4
4. All 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: All 1, 2, 3 and 4
Solution:
In News:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Canadian Space Agency on 4 April 2023 announced the 4 astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II.
Key Points:
The astronauts are Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman of NASA.
The mission is scheduled to launch in November 2024 and will be the first crewed moon trip in fifty years.
This will be the first crewed moon trip in fifty years.
Reid Wiseman of NASA was first selected as an astronaut for the space organization in 2009.
He will serve as commander of the Artemis II mission.
Hansen was selected by the Canadian Space Agency for astronaut training in 2009.
Notably, he will be the first Canadian ever to travel to deep space.
Glover made his first trip into space in 2021, flying SpaceX's Crew Dragon on its second crewed mission and spending nearly six months at the International Space Station.
The fourth crew member is Koch.
Six spacewalks have been completed by Koch including the first all-female spacewalk in 2019.
With 328 days in space, she holds the record for the longest solo spaceflight by a woman.

Also, Read about Axiom 4 Mission (Ax-4) for UPSC