What advantage does Landsat provide regarding Earth observation?

Landsat provides a significant advantage by being able to photograph the entire Earth approximately every 16 days. This capability is crucial for monitoring changes in land use, vegetation cover, and other environmental factors over time. The 16-day revisit cycle allows researchers and scientists to develop a comprehensive understanding of temporal changes in the Earth’s surface. This regular acquisition of images is particularly valuable for long-term studies, such as tracking the impacts of climate change, urban development, and natural disasters.

In contrast to the other options, the daily capture of images is not a feature of Landsat satellites; they have a longer revisit time. The claim about utilizing only a single spectral band is incorrect, as Landsat satellites capture data across multiple spectral bands, enabling diverse analysis from visible to infrared ranges. Additionally, focusing solely on urban areas limits the broader ecological and environmental analysis that Landsat supports, as it is designed to monitor various land cover types, including rural and natural landscapes. Thus, the 16-day coverage enables an effective balance between temporal resolution and coverage, making it a powerful tool in Earth observation.