Scientists are using NASA’s AVIRIS-NG instrument to detect signs of GLRaV-3, a grapevine disease. AVIRIS-NG is typically used for ecological research, such as studying wildfires and air pollution. However, in this case, it was used to observe how grape plants interact with sunlight. By analyzing the composition of light absorbed by the plants, researchers were able to identify infected plants with up to 87% accuracy even before they exhibited symptoms. The study, published in the journal “Phytopathology,” utilized machine learning and data from 11,000 acres of vineyards. This technology has the potential to assist grape farmers and could be extended to monitor crop diseases globally.