Editing Landsat program (section)

== MultiSpectral Scanner (MSS) ==
The Landsat program incorporated the [[Multispectral Scanner]] (MSS) from its first mission up to its fifth. The MSS gave the United States an advantage in satellite imaging, facilitating the launch of Landsat ahead of the French SPOT satellite.

The MSS was unique in its design. Rather than a static camera, it employed a moving mirror, capturing Earth's images in four distinct spectral bands. This capability allowed the MSS to record variations in sunlight reflected from the Earth. Notably, Landsat 3's MSS was further advanced, with an added capability to detect heat radiation.<ref name="nasa-mss">{{cite web |title=The Multispectral Scanner |url=http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/mss.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126235924/http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/mss.html |archive-date=2007-01-26 |publisher=[[NASA]] }}</ref>

One of the prominent features of the MSS was its consistent imaging. Each captured frame represented an area on the Earth's surface approximately 83 meters in length and 68 meters in width. Additionally, the system was designed to ensure a continuous image sweep across a swath equivalent to 185&nbsp;km on the Earth's surface. The MSS's design also emphasized precision; by precisely timing the mirror's movements, it ensured that consecutive images did not overlap.<ref name="nasa-mss"/>

However, by the 1980s, the cost dynamics shifted. Accessing Landsat's imagery became substantially more expensive, making the French SPOT satellite's images a more cost-effective alternative for many users. The rise in Landsat's prices can be attributed to U.S. policy shifts, initiated under President Carter's leadership and finalized during President Reagan's administration.<ref name="Folger"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/17221/title/Failure-Of-Landsat-6-Leaves-Many-Researchers-In-Limbo/|title=Failure Of Landsat 6 Leaves Many Researchers In Limbo|publisher=The Scientist (magazine)}}</ref>