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Spinoff story
Forest Damage Assessment
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Thematic Mapper (TM) is an advanced scanning instrument aboard Landsat 4 & 5 originally developed by NASA, now operated as a commercial remote sensing system. The TM detects radiation reflected and emitted from earth objects such as trees in seven bands of the spectrum. Since each object has its own unique spectral signature" the TM can distinguish among surface features and generate computer processed imagery specific features of importance to resources managers."