The Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite makes precise measurements of Earth’s carbon dioxide levels from space. Credit: NASA/JPL
Think “NASA,” and what comes to mind? Astronauts? Mars rovers? Voyager and the Golden Record? How about Earth?
In fact, NASA has been studying and monitoring the health of our home planet for decades, using balloons, aircraft, satellites, and even the International Space Station in the effort.
Sky High traces the efforts of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to measure greenhouse gases, from the pathfinding science instrument AIRS, through to today’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 aboard the space station.
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3, or OCO-3, is a space instrument designed to investigate important questions about the distribution of carbon dioxide on Earth as it relates to growing urban populations and changing patterns of fossil fuel combustion. OCO-3 was launched on May 3, 2019, from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
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