Orbiting Carbon Observatories

The US has directed NASA to prepare for the early termination of its two key satellites—OCO-2 and OCO-3—which track atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and monitor crop health.

  • The Orbiting Carbon Observatories (OCOs) are NASA’s Earth observation missions designed to measure CO2 sources and sinks and study their role in global climate systems.
  • The first mission, OCO (2009), failed due to a launch vehicle issue, but OCO-2 (2014) successfully launched into a sun-synchronous polar orbit, measuring atmospheric CO2, identifying sinks and sources, and monitoring plant photosynthesis.
  • OCO-3 (2019), mounted on the ISS, orbits Earth every 90 minutes, observing the same location ....
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