The ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station, or ECOSTRESS, is NASA’s newest Earth-observing mission that will monitor temperature changes in plants from space and provide insight into plant health. Following a successful installation on the International Space Station (ISS) this July, ECOSTRESS has already collected its first science data on land surface temperature.
“ECOSTRESS acquired this image the night of July 9 over Egypt. Yellow and red indicate generally higher temperatures. The River Nile is visible as a thin blue line on the main image. The black-and-white inset shows the level of detail available from ECOSTRESS, with the relatively cool Nile River and surrounding vegetation appearing darker.”
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Over the next month or so, the ECOSTRESS team will continue to check out the performance of the instrument and review preliminary science data. In addition to initial calibration activities, the science team is also validating the data by referencing measurements taken at ground control sites. After these checks and balances are completed, ECOSTRESS will be officially ready to begin its one-year science mission and future data will be distributed to the public through the LP DAAC.
Learn more about ECOSTRESS at https://ecostress.jpl.nasa.gov/.
Follow the latest updates using #ECOSTRESS on Twitter and Instagram.
Stay tuned and receive updates regarding the future release of ECOSTRESS data products by signing up for our listserv by sending a blank email to lpdaac-join@lists.nasa.gov.
Please contact LP DAAC User Services (lpdaac@usgs.gov) with any questions.