An Eye on CO2 from Space Could Soon Shut -Impact on Climate Monitoring

Why in the News?

The US government is planning to shut down NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatories (OCO-2 and OCO-3) missions, which monitor atmospheric CO₂ and crop health. These satellites have been crucial in understanding global CO₂ accumulation and climate change.

Background

• The OCO missions are dedicated Earth remote sensing satellites designed to measure atmospheric CO₂ from space.
• OCO-1 failed in 2009 due to a launch issue.
• OCO-2 (launched in 2014) was built as a replacement and measures atmospheric CO₂, locating its sources and sinks.
• OCO-3 (installed on the ISS in 2019) continues CO₂ measurements at different times of the day.
• These satellites have transformed the understanding of carbon cycles and helped map plant growth, forest health, and agricultural impacts.

Feature

• OCO satellites provide high-resolution, planet-wide CO₂ data, unlike earlier localised measurements.
• Data revealed surprising roles of boreal forests in CO₂ absorption and showed that natural carbon sinks could become emitters due to drought or deforestation.
• They support climate change policy decisions, assess emission reduction efforts, and improve agricultural yield forecasts.
• Maintenance cost in orbit is minimal compared to initial build costs ($750M for both).

Challenge

• Premature shutdown may halt critical climate monitoring, limiting data continuity for scientists and policymakers.
• It could affect the ability to track CO₂ sources/sinks and evaluate climate policies.
• Loss of agricultural monitoring benefits for crop yield and drought tracking.
• Potential gap in global CO₂ datasets used by NASA, scientists, and the US Department of Agriculture.

Way Forward

• Continue funding OCO missions until end-of-life to preserve valuable climate data.
• Explore the integration of OCO capabilities into future satellite missions to avoid data gaps.
• Promote international collaboration for climate monitoring, sharing costs and datasets.
• Increase public and policymaker awareness of satellite climate science benefits to garner funding support.