Sensor · Spaceborne

ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station)

Missions → ECOSTRESS ISS deployment (Extended operations)

ISS-hosted multispectral thermal infrared radiometer using the PHyTIR instrument, with five TIR bands from 8-12.5 um plus a 1.6 um geolocation/cloud band, approximately 70 m native pixels and a 384 km swath.

Sensor

ECOSTRESS is the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station, implemented as the PHyTIR radiometer mounted on the International Space Station Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility ^[1]. It is a passive multispectral thermal infrared scanner with five TIR bands spanning 8 to 12.5 um and a 1.6 um band used for geolocation and cloud screening ^[1]^[2]. The instrument samples approximately 69 by 38 m nadir pixels, often rounded to about 70 m, across a 384 km swath at the ISS orbital height ^[1]. ECOSTRESS produces temperature and emissivity imagery for evapotranspiration, plant water stress, wildfire, and volcanic hazard applications ^[3]. Operations were approved through FY2026 with possible continuation to FY2029, subject to the 2026 Senior Review ^[3].

Operator pricing

Pricing not publicly listed by operator

Supply chain position

carried by ECOSTRESS ISS deployment

Methods this sensor implements

Demonstrated

Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrievalvia ECOSTRESS ISS deployment
ECOSTRESS acquires high-resolution surface temperature and emissivity imagery; the instrument provides five TIR bands used for LST/emissivity products.
Thermal anomaly detectionvia ECOSTRESS ISS deployment
NASA ECOSTRESS project materials list wildfire and volcanic-hazard mapping among ECOSTRESS applications.
Thermal infrared imagingvia ECOSTRESS ISS deployment
[jpl-ecostress-mission] Five TIR bands from 8 to 12.5 um at about 70 m; thermal-only sensor.

Capable, undemonstrated

None on record.

Topics this relates to

Building thermal performance Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)well suited

Irrigation monitoring Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)well suited

Sea surface temperature Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)well suited

Urban heat island Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)well suited

Vector-borne disease risk Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)well suited

Crop stress and yield Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)adequate

Drought Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)adequate

Harmful algal blooms Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)adequate

Permafrost and ground ice Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)adequate

Wildfire Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)adequate

Coastal water quality Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)marginal

Marine primary production Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)marginal

Mineral exploration Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)marginal

Pasture and grazing Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)marginal

Solar energy siting and monitoring Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)marginal

Urban change Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)marginal

Wind energy siting Land-surface temperature - emissivity retrieval(demonstrated)marginal

Industrial emissions Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)well suited

Geology and geohazards Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)adequate

Weather nowcasting Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)adequate

Air quality Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

CO2 Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Disaster damage assessment Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Economic activity intelligence Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Illegal and unregulated fishing Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Oil spills Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Pipeline integrity Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Shipping emissions Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Cloud properties Thermal infrared imaging(demonstrated)well suited

Sources

[1]Mission and Instrument, ECOSTRESS NASA JPLagency doc2026-06-14
[2]ECOSTRESS instrument, NASA Earthdataagency doc2026-06-14
[3]ECOSTRESS project homepage, NASA JPLagency doc2026-06-14

Cite https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/ecostress Markdown twin → Field definitions → Suggest a correction →

How to cite this page

Plain text

ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station). EO-Atlas, SpectraWorks B.V. https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/ecostress (CC BY 4.0)

BibTeX

@misc{eoatlas:products:sensor:ecostress,
  title = {ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station)},
  author = {{EO-Atlas}},
  publisher = {SpectraWorks B.V.},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
  url = {https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/ecostress}
}