NASA launched the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) instrument to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 29, 2018. In 2019, NASA selected the initial members of the ECOSTRESS Science and Applications Team to develop research and applications products with ECOSTRESS data (please see U38T 38TU this link for a list of the 15 initial team members selected by NASA in 2019 and their proposal abstracts).
This program element solicits proposals for membership in the second round of the ECOSTRESS Science and Applications Team. This team continues to support basic research and analysis activities as well as applications activities associated with the production, validation, and utilization of ECOSTRESS data products.
NASA selected the ECOSTRESS instrument through the Earth Venture Instrument-2 solicitation in July 2014. ECOSTRESS is a multispectral thermal radiometer acquiring coincident thermal infrared (TIR) emission measurements of the Earth’s surface in five separate spectral bands, covering the 8-to-12.5 micron wavelength range. Since May 15 , 2019, ECOSTRESS data were acquired for just three of these bands (8.78 μm, 10.49 μm, and 12.09 μm). ECOSTRESS measures the brightness temperature of the Earth’s surface with an accuracy of 1 Kelvin (K) and a precision of 0.3 K at 300 K. The mission acquires brightness temperatures at a ground sampling distance of approximately 40 m by 70 m over a continuous ground swath width of 360 km, from the 385 to 415 km ISS altitude range. The ISS precessing orbit (orbital inclination of 51.5 degrees) does not allow observations over high-latitude regions but does have the advantage of enabling measurements at different times of the diurnal cycle, with coverage every few days depending on latitude. The planned ECOSTRESS end of mission is September 2023. Data collection plans originally included the entire CONUS, twelve 1,000x1,000 km areas in key climate zones, and multiple Fluxnet sites. In March 2020, this coverage was extended to include all of the ECOSTRESS imagery captured by the sensor across the globe within the orbital limits of the ISS.
The ECOSTRESS website at 38T 38T https://ecostress.jpl.nasa.gov provides additional information about the mission, including a map of ECOSTRESS data currently available through 38T 38T https://ecostress.jpl.nasa.gov/gmap/ .
A key ECOSTRESS measurement is evapotranspiration (ET), derived from the TIR brightness temperatures of plants. ET is a key climate and ecosystem variable, as it integrates life with the water, carbon, and energy cycles—incorporating elements of the sun, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. ECOSTRESS’s diurnal sampling captures the shape of the daily ET cycling as plants open and close their stomata over the course of a day.
Deadlines:
- NOI: May 4, 2022
- Proposals: June 1, 2022