EMIT

EMIT [NASA]

EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) is an ISS attached Earth Ventures-Instrument (EVI-4) mission to determine the mineral composition of natural sources that produce dust aerosols around the world.

The mission will map the surface mineralogy of arid dust source regions via imaging spectroscopy in the visible and short-wave infrared (VSWIR). The maps of the source regions will be used to improve forecasts of the role of mineral dust in the radiative forcing (warming or cooling) of the atmosphere.

By measuring in detail which minerals make up the dust, EMIT will help to answer the essential question of whether this type of aerosol warms or cools the atmosphere. EMIT's hyperspectral instrument will measure the different wavelengths of light emitted by minerals on the surface of deserts and other dust sources to determine their composition. The EMIT sensor is based in part on NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.

EMIT was transported by the Dragon CRS-25 cargo craft to the International Space Station (ISS) and has been mounted on ELC 1.