EMIT (NASA)

NASA's EMIT instrument on the International Space Station maps the minerals in desert dust and has spotted methane super-emitters from space (NASA JPL).

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Last reviewed: October 20264 sources cited

Explain Like I'm 10

EMIT is a special camera on the International Space Station.
It splits sunlight into many colors to tell what the ground is made of.
It also spotted big leaks of , a gas that heats the planet, so they can be fixed.

The Five W's of EMIT

Who

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads EMIT, a NASA Earth Venture instrument installed on the International Space Station.

Source: NASA JPL, EMIT mission

What

EMIT is an imaging spectrometer that measures visible and light. It takes more than 100,000 spectra every second across a 72-kilometer (39-mile) field of view.

Source: NASA JPL, EMIT mission

When

EMIT launched to the space station on a SpaceX rocket. In early 2024 it moved into an extended mission and will keep collecting data through at least 2026.

Source: NASA JPL, EMIT mission

Where

On the International Space Station, looking down at the dry, dusty regions of Earth where mineral dust comes from.

Source: NASA JPL, EMIT mission

Why

Wind carries desert dust around the world. Dark minerals can warm Earth and light ones can cool it, so knowing the dust's makeup improves climate models.

Source: NASA JPL, EMIT mission

Impact Statement

Agency solution · active

Within months, EMIT had found more than 50 methane super-emitters in Central Asia, the Middle East and the southwestern United States (NASA JPL).

Source: NASA JPL, Methane super-emitters mapped by EMIT

For Further Information: NASA JPL, EMIT mission

How This Saves People & the Planet

For People

In 2020, African dust blown across the Atlantic affected U.S. states from Florida to Texas. EMIT's maps help scientists study dust's effects on people.

Source: NASA JPL, EMIT mission