FLEX

ESA’s Earth Explorer FLEX mission will yield information about the health of the world’s plants by measuring a faint florescence glow they give off as they photosynthesise. Importantly, the signal, which is invisible to the naked eye, varies according to environmental conditions and the health of the plant – and, therefore, if measured, can be used to assess plant health and stress.

The information gathered by FLEX will be used to improve our understanding of how carbon moves between plants and the atmosphere and how photosynthesis affects the carbon and water cycles. The mission will also give us better insight into plant health, which is especially important since Earth’s growing population is placing increasing demands on the production of food and animal feed.