NASA, SpaceX launch climate science research mission to space station

LOS ANGELES, July 14 (Xinhua) -- NASA and SpaceX launched a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, carrying important science experiments including a new device to help researchers model climate effects.

A SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket at 8:44 p.m. Eastern Time (0044 GMT) Thursday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying more than 5,800 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, and other cargo.

It is scheduled to autonomously dock at the ISS about 11:20 a.m. Eastern Time (1520 GMT) Saturday, and remain there for about a month.

Among the science experiments delivering to the space station, a new device, named the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT), will help scientists better understand the role of airborne dust in heating and cooling the atmosphere.

The EMIT mission, developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, employs NASA imaging spectroscopy technology to measure the mineral composition of dust in Earth's arid regions.

It aims to deepen researchers' understanding of these fine particles of soil, silt, and clay from Earth's deserts and, ultimately, how they affect climate, according to NASA.