One of two orbiting Carbon Observatory instruments, known as OCO-3, in 2019. NASA has put out a call for private groups to potentially take over the cost of maintaining the instruments, which measures carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere. Photo: NASA
NASA has been directed to start planning to deorbit two satellites essential in monitoring carbon dioxide and the growth of plants on Earth. The satellites, one of which is attached to the International Space Station, collect and transmit data to researchers that are studying climate change.
According to NPR, the reasons the Trump administration wants to end the satellites’ missions are murky.
“It is unclear why the Trump administration seeks to end the missions,” NPR wrote. “The equipment in space is state of the art and is expected to function for many more years, according to scientists who worked on the missions. An official review by NASA in 2023 found that ‘the data are of exceptionally high quality’ and recommended continuing the mission for at least three years.”
Aside from collecting climate change data, the satellite missions, known as the Orbiting Carbon Observatories (OCO), are useful to agricultural companies, oil and gas companies, and farmers.
OCO missions are to remain funded until the end of September, but NASA staff was asked to “prepare decommission scenarios for projects that might lose funding under the administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget.”
Democrats in Congress are pushing back against the directive in the usual method: strongly worded letters. It should be noted here that Presidential budget proposals often look different than the final congressional budgets. As of this writing, however, it’s not clear whether a new budget will be passed before the funding for these missions expire. NASA, however, is open to other options, and they’ve put out a call for private groups to potentially take over the cost of maintaining the carbon dioxide measuring missions.
