NASA is preparing a July 1 launch for its first satellite dedicated to measuring atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that plays a key role in climate change.
CO2 levels have reached their highest point in at least 800,000 years, according to the US space agency.
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) satellite is very similar to its predecessor, OCO-1, which was destroyed during its launch in February 2009.
The satellite will help provide a more complete and global picture of man-made and naturally occurring CO2 emissions as well as the effects of carbon "sinks," like oceans and forests, which absorb and trap the gas.
"Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere plays a critical role in our planet's energy balance and is a key factor in understanding how our climate is changing," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division.
"With the OCO-2 mission, NASA will be contributing an important new source of global observations to the scientific challenge of better understanding our Earth and its future," he added in a statement.
The OCO-2 satellite will be launched on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, aiming for an orbit at 438 miles (705 kilometers) above the Earth's surface.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment