A new NASA mission will watch over dust-ups from orbit to quantify their effect on Earth's climate. Dubbed the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation mission (EMIT), the experiment is scheduled to launch Thursday (July 14) for an International Space Station mission. Mineral dust, also known as desert dust, "can influence weather, hasten snowmelt and fertilize plants on land and in the ocean," NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said in a statement (opens in new tab)in May. Related: 10 devastating signs of climate change satellites can see from spaceThe dust can also travel incredibly large distances in Earth's atmosphere. EMIT, which will be mounted aboard ISS, aims to map mineral dust sources from an altitude of 250 miles (400 kilometers).

Source: The North Africa Journal July 13, 2022 20:47 UTC