NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX lifted off at than 5:42 a.m. ET Friday, June 29, 2018, for the launch of its 15th resupply mission to the International Space Station. Packed with more than 5,900 pounds of research, including ECOSTRESS, crew supplies and hardware, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) will measure the temperature of plants and use that information to better understand how much water plants need and how they respond to stress.
ECOSTRESS will address three overarching science questions:
How is the terrestrial biosphere responding to changes in water availability?
How do changes in diurnal vegetation water stress impact the global carbon cycle?
Can agricultural vulnerability be reduced through advanced monitoring of agricultural water consumptive use and improved drought estimation?
The ECOSTRESS mission will answer these questions by accurately measuring the temperature of plants. Plants regulate their temperature by releasing water through tiny pores on their leaves called stomata. If they have sufficient water they can maintain their temperature but if there is insufficient water their temperatures rise and this temperature rise can be measured with a sensor in space. The radiometer will acquire the most detailed temperature images of the surface ever acquired from space and will be able to measure the temperature of an individual farmers field.
For more about ECOSTRESS, visit https://ecostress.jpl.nasa.gov/
Credit: NASA/JPL
Duration: 44 minutes
Release Date: June 29, 2018
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