NASA's Landsat satellites have consistently made history in slot Earth observation since the project's first launch in 1972, with this year marking 50 years of innovation and science. Its influence may surprise you, as will its continued relevance in the face of a fast-growing commercial imaging satellite sector.

Landsat may be a familiar name to you but doesn't ring any particular bells. It's understandable — there are a ton of NASA satellites up there looking down on the planet. But the easiest way to say it is this:

In 1972, Landsat basically invented modern Earth observation. Then, remember a while back when every Google Earth image said "USGS" on it? Yeah, that was Landsat too. The project has basically ushered satellite imaging from bleeding edge research tool to everyday technology.