5 things to know about NASA’s new mineral dust detector

Did you know that a billion metric tons of mineral dust from deserts and dry regions on Earth get carried by strong winds into the atmosphere?

This is why NASA is launching the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT), which will help fill in the gaps in our knowledge.

Here are five things to know about the device launching from the International Space Station. Read on

It will identify the composition of mineral dust

EMIT will figure out whether mineral dust heats or cools the planet.

It will help scientists understand how dust affects different Earth processes.

Its data will improve the accuracy of climate models.

It will help scientists predict how future climate scenarios will affect the type and amount of dust in our atmosphere.