Nasa to launch new climate change satellite

Nasa is planning to launch a new satellite tomorrow (Tuesday July 1st) to track carbon dioxide emissions in a bid to tackle climate change. It is expected that the satellite will be able to reveal the worst areas for greenhouse gas emissions across the globe.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) is a two-year project that will help to better understand how emissions are affecting the atmosphere. As well as looking at where carbon dioxide is released, the satellite will also track where atmospheric carbon is being re-absorbed by forests and oceans. This is a key factor in the carbon cycle and is important to maintaining the Earth's current temperature. 

The launch of the satellite comes five years after the original disappeared into the ocean following its launch. It is hoped that the $468 million (£274 million) project will this time be a success and enable a better understanding of how the world is contributing to and working against climate change. 

The OCO-2 is an almost exact replica of the first satellite. However, this time it will be launched on a Delta 2 rocket, meaning it can use an existing launch pad. Creating a new rocket to launch the satellite would have meant further delays to the project, meaning that understanding the full extent of global emissions would also have been delayed.

This new mission attempt has cost almost double the original as it is being launched on a more expensive rocket model. Obsolete parts also had to be exchanged in order to bring everything up-to-date with current technology, which further increased the price tag.

As well as providing a better understanding of the atmospheric carbon cycle and which areas of the globe affect it most, the data collected by the satellite will help to inform policy. It will enable governments to be better equipped to deal with the issue of global warming on a larger scale.

Betsy Edwards, programme executive at Nasa headquarters in Washington, told reporters: "The data we will provide will help our decision-makers at both the local and federal levels be better-equipped to understand carbon dioxide's role in climate change because (the observatory) will be measuring this greenhouse globally."