- Missions
- Landsat-4 and Landsat-5
- Instruments
- Thematic Mapper (TM)
- Explore Thematic Mapper (TM)
Thematic Mapper (TM)
The Thematic Mapper (TM) was a multispectral scanning radiometer operating in the visible and Infra-Red regions of the Electromagnetic Spectrum that was carried on board the Landsat-4 and 5 satellites.
TM was a whiskbroom instrument designed and built by SBRC (Santa Barbara Research Centre) of Hughes Aircraft Company in Goleta, USA.
The instrument was regarded as a second generation imager for monitoring Earth's resources with considerably improved spectral and spatial resolutions over those of the Multi Spectral Scanner which was used aboard the Landsat-1 to 5 satellites.
The TM sensors provided nearly continuous coverage from July 1982 to June 2013.
| Swath Width | 185 km |
| Resolution | 30 m for VIS, NIR, SWIR 120 m for TIR, no onboard recording |
| Band No. | Bandwidth (µm) | Detectors |
| 1 | 0.45-0.52 (VIS, blue) | Coastal water mapping, soil/vegetation differentiation, deciduous/coniferous differentiation, chlorophyll absorption |
| 2 | 0.52-0.60 (VIS, green) | Green reflectance, peak of healthy vegetation, plant vigor |
| 3 | 0.63-0.69 (VIS, red) | Chlorophyll absorption, plant type discrimination |
| 4 | 0.76-0.90 (NIR) | Biomass surveys, water body delineation |
| 5 | 1.55-1.75 (SWIR) | Vegetation moisture measurement, snow/cloud differentiation |
| 7 | 2.08-2.35 (SWIR) | Hydrothermal mapping, geology |
| 6 | 10.4-12.5 (TIR) | Plant heat stress, thermal mapping, soil mapping |
Sensor Modes
Landsat operated in the SAM (Scan Angle Monitor) Mode for nominal routine operations. On 1 March 2002, Landsat-5 TM was switched to the 'backup' BUMPER mode to help correct issues associated with the end of an instruments lifetime. More information on this mode-switch is available in the Monthly update from April 2002.