The Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) satellite, the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) next Earth Explorer mission, has been removed from its container packaging at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Now that FLEX has been unpacked, it is ready to undergo comprehensive health checks and testing, fuelling, and final preparations during its launch campaign.

FLEX will deliver the first global maps of vegetation fluorescence at a resolution of 300 m × 300 m to assess photosynthetic activity. The satellite is equipped with the Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer that will detect the faint fluorescence emitted by plants as they absorb sunlight during photosynthesis. Although invisible to the human eye, this subtle glow varies and can provide data about plant health and environmental conditions.

The mission is due to launch in September on board a Vega-C rocket, sharing the launch with the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite.