The primary focus of the US$193 million satellite is to develop and test a set of advanced technology land imaging instruments. EO-1 will be inserted into an orbit flying in formation with the Landsat 7 satellite taking a series of the same images. EO-1 will fly in a 705 km (381 nmi) circular, sun-synchronous orbit at a 98.7 degree inclination. This orbit will allow EO-1 to match within one minute, the Landsat 7 orbit and collect identical images for later comparison on the ground. Once or twice a day, sometimes more, both  Landsat 7 and EO-1 will image the same ground areas (scenes). All three of the EO-1 land imaging instruments will view all or subsegments of the Landsat 7 swath. Comparison of these "paired scene" images will be one means to evaluate EO-1's land imaging instruments. Reflected light from the ground will be imaged onto the focal plane of each instrument. Each of the imaging instruments has unique filtering methods for passing light in only specific spectral bands. Bands are selected to best look for specific surface features or land characteristics based on scientific or commercial applications. 

Many other key instruments and technologies are part of the EO-1 mission and will have wide ranging applications to future land imaging missions in particular and future satellites in general. Three land imaging instruments on EO-1 will collect multispectral and hyperspectral scenes over the course of its mission in coordination with the Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) on Landsat 7. Breakthrough technologies in lightweight materials, high performance integrated detector arrays and precision spectrometers will be demonstrated in these instruments. Detailed comparisons of the EO-1 and ETM+ images will be carried out to validate these instruments for follow-on missions. 

The 529 kg (1166 lbm) EO-1 spacecraft bus was provided by Swales Aerospace, Beltsville, Maryland. The EO-1 spacecraft bus has heritage with the MIDEX spacecraft bus. Swales Aerospace is an employee-owned small aerospace engineering firm with expertise in mechanical, thermal, optical, electrical systems, guidance and controls, mission operations, graphics and computer support, and the design, development, and production of spacecraft, instruments, and mechanisms. Swales also designs and manufactures specialty flight hardware including space-qualified passive thermal louvers, thermal heat pipes, capillary pumped loops, deployable radiators, astronaut tools, composite structures, calorimeters, and magnetometers. Swales Aerospace was originally in 1978 as Swales & Associates, Inc. to provide aerospace engineering services to the Goddard Space Flight Center. 1998 revenues exceeded US$85 million.