U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

119 National Center

Reston, VA 20192

Contact:

Karen Wood, 703-648-4447, Fax 703-648-4466

Ron Beck, 605-594-6551, Fax 605-594-6567

The U.S. Geological Survey and SPOT Image Corporation have agreed to make 700,000 historical SPOT
satellite images available to other federal agencies as early as this summer.

The SPOT imagery will complement the Landsat archive by substantially increasing the number of
low-cloud-cover images and by filling gaps in Landsat coverage. In addition to environmental research,
satellite data are used by customers worldwide in the government, commercial and educational
communities for applications in areas such as forestry, agriculture, geology, oceanography, land
mapping and geographic research.

“The USGS welcomes this opportunity to work with SPOT Image Corporation to get important
information about the Earth’s landscape and the dynamics of change into the hands of users of
satellite imagery,” said USGS chief geographer Richard Witmer. “This partnership draws upon and
enhances the capabilities of both organizations and provides another gateway to these data,” Witmer
said. “At the same time, the partnership helps ensure these data are preserved for future use.”

The USGS EROS Data Center (EDC) in Sioux Falls, S.D., holds one of the world’s largest collections of
aerial and satellite images of the Earth’s land surface. The EDC will permanently archive the SPOT
scenes acquired over the United States from 1986 through 1998 as well as provide catalog query
services, order fulfillment, and product generation to federal research and operational users. Products
will be distributed at the cost of reproduction, plus a royalty fee paid to SPOT Image Corporation for
use of the data. Users should continue to contact SPOT Image Corporation directly to order
post-1998 imagery and non-U.S. imagery or to arrange for satellite programming to acquire images in
the future.

As the nation’s largest water, earth and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the USGS
works in cooperation with more than 2,000 organizations across the country to provide reliable,
impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners and other customers. This information
is gathered in every state by USGS scientists to minimize the loss of life and property from natural
disasters, to contribute to the conservation and the sound economic and physical development of the
nation’s natural resources, and to enhance the quality of life by monitoring water, biological, energy
and mineral resources.