Australia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the
United States Geological Survey to become an international
collaborator on the Landsat 8 program. The Landsat series of
satellites have been the longest running satellite series for
imaging Earth from space. Since 1972, seven Landsat satellites
have been launched, with Landsat 8 or the Landsat Data
Continuity Mission (LDCM) being launched on the 24th of January
2013. The Landsat series of satellites have been vital to many
Australian government programs as one of the primary sources of
Earth Observation data since 1979. Most importantly, by signing
up to the Landsat 8 program, the Australian government will
achieve data continuity which is vital to examine data trends
over years or decades. The media release related to the MoU
signature is available here, and some further interesting
information about the Landsat series can be found over on
Geoscience Australia's website here.