Sentinel-3C & FLEX

Sentinel-3C is an Earth observation satellite constellation developed by the European Space Agency as part of the Copernicus Programme. Copernicus, formerly Global Monitoring for Environment and Security, is the European programme to establish a European capacity for Earth observation designed to provide European policymakers and public authorities with accurate and timely information to better manage the environment and to understand and mitigate the effects of climate change.

European Space Agency (ESA)'s Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) will yield information about the health of the world’s plants. FLEX will carry a fluorescence imaging spectrometer called Floris to map vegetation fluorescence around the globe and quantify photosynthetic activity and plant stress. It will detect and measure the light emitted by plants as they convert sunlight and the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide into energy. While this photosynthetic activity is invisible to the naked eye, the instrument will observe the fluorescence of vegetation, yielding important information about plant health. The information gathered 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.