NASA's COsub2/sub-scan sat set to launch
NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) is set to lift off this morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base on its projected two-year mission to monitor atmospheric carbon dioxide.
The OCO will be raised aloft atop a solid-fuelled Orbital Sciences Taurus XL rocket (see pic). Its task is, NASA explains, to collect "precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere"
The agency elaborates: "Scientists will analyze OCO data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important greenhouse gas. This improved understanding will enable more reliable forecasts of future changes in the abundance and distribution of CO2 in the atmosphere and the effect that these changes may have on the Earth's climate."
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