Why in the News?
- The S. government plans to shut down NASA’s OCO-2 and OCO-3 satellites, which monitor atmospheric CO₂ and crop health.
- The decision is reportedly to align with the President’s agenda and budget priorities, despite experts stating the satellites remain highly valuable.
- The move could end two of the world’s most sensitive and accurate CO₂ monitoring missions
Key Highlights
- About Orbiting Carbon Observatories (OCOs)
- A series of dedicated Earth remote sensing satellites designed to observe atmospheric CO₂ from space for climate change studies.
- The first mission, OCO (2009), failed due to a fairing separation issue during launch.
- OCO-2, launched in 2014, was built from the original design to reduce costs and delays.
- OCO-3, launched in 2019 to the ISS, was assembled from spare OCO-2 components.
- Unique Observation Capabilities
- OCO-2: Sun-synchronous polar orbit that is the same location observed at the same time daily.
- OCO-3: Mounted on ISS — can observe locations at different times of day, offering varied perspectives.
- Both measure atmospheric CO₂ and locate its sources and sinks.
- They can track crops by detecting plant “glow” from photosynthesis.
- Scientific Contributions
- Revolutionised understanding of CO₂ accumulation rates
- Discovered that boreal forests play a bigger role in CO₂ absorption than previously believed.
- Showed that natural carbon sinks can turn into emitters due to drought or deforestation.
- Practical Applications
- High-resolution global maps of plant growth used for agriculture, drought monitoring, and forest mapping.
- Data utilised by USDA and private companies for crop yield forecasts and drought assessment.
- Valuable to farmers, grazing land managers, and environmental planners.
- Cost and Decision to Shut Down
- Development and launch of OCO-2 and OCO-3 cost around $750 million.
- Annual operation cost is about $15 million, covering data download and ground calibration networks.
- Experts argue shutting down the missions wastes valuable data for minimal savings.
| Remote Sensing Satellites
1. Satellites that collect information about Earth without direct contact. 2. Use sensors to detect reflected sunlight or emitted radiation from the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. 3. Can operate in optical, infrared, microwave, or other spectral ranges. 4. Applications include weather forecasting, climate monitoring, agriculture, disaster management, and resource mapping. 5. Example: NASA’s OCO-2 and OCO-3 for CO₂ monitoring. Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit 1. A special type of near-polar orbit that passes over the same spot on Earth at the same local solar time daily. 2. The altitude is usually around 600–800 km. 3. Ensures consistent lighting conditions, ideal for comparing images over time. 4. Widely used for Earth observation, environmental monitoring, and mapping. 5. Example: OCO-2 uses this orbit. Boreal Forests 1. Vast forests located in the high northern latitudes, just below the Arctic Circle. 2. Also called taiga, dominated by coniferous trees like spruce, pine, and fir. 3. Found in Canada, Russia, Scandinavia, and Alaska. 4. Play a major role as carbon sinks, absorbing large amounts of CO₂. 5. Vulnerable to climate change: Warming can turn them into carbon sources due to fires or decay. Natural Carbon Sinks 1. Natural systems that absorb more CO₂ from the atmosphere than they release. 2. Major examples: forests, oceans, and soil. 3. Remove CO₂ via photosynthesis in plants and dissolution in seawater. 4. Help mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas concentration. 5. Can become carbon sources if degraded by deforestation, warming, or pollution. |
Implications
- Loss of Critical Climate Data
- Shutting down would halt continuous, high-precision global CO₂ monitoring.
- Could affect climate change modelling and trend analysis.
- Impact on Policy and Climate Action
- Policymakers lose a vital tool for assessing emission reduction progress.
- Weakens ability to track compliance with climate goals.
- Agricultural and Economic Consequences
- Loss of satellite-based crop health and drought monitoring.
- Affects farmers, agricultural planners, and food security
- Scientific Setback
- Potential gap in CO₂ observation records, hindering ongoing research.
- Reduces ability to detect unexpected climate-related changes in carbon sinks.
- Economic Waste
- Large initial investment would be undermined for a relatively small operational cost.
- Reduced return on scientific and technological investment.
Challenges and Way Forward
| Challenge | Why it matters | Immediate (days–weeks) actions | Medium term (months) options |
| Risk of hasty termination / loss of data continuity | Permanent data gaps would damage long-term climate records and downstream science | Secure short-term funding continuity; pause irreversible deorbit plans until alternative support is arranged. | Arrange multi-year funding commitments; create agreements ensuring uninterrupted mission operations. |
| Legal and procedural clarity | Unclear rules for implementing budget changes before formal allocation can lead to disputes and operational risks | Conduct independent review of termination decisions; ensure all actions comply with established funding protocols. | Define clear agency policies for pre-appropriation actions to prevent ambiguity. |
| Technical/ logistical difficulty of transferring operations | Moving control to private or international partners is complex and time-sensitive | Invite partner proposals to operate instruments while maintaining data transmission. | Negotiate cost-sharing or joint operation agreements with space agencies (e.g., JAXA, ESA) or private entities. |
| Loss of verification capacity for emissions | Weakens independent checks on climate commitments and emission inventories | Map impacts of mission loss on verification capabilities; share with relevant agencies and climate bodies. | Develop successor missions or multi-satellite networks for CO₂ and methane monitoring. |
| Impact on agriculture and applied users | Loss of near- real- time vegetation and drought data affects farmers, insurers, and agencies | Alert stakeholders of upcoming data gaps; provide backup datasets where possible. | Fund transition services and accelerate complementary satellite programs or commercial partnerships. |
Conclusion
The planned shutdown of OCO-2 and OCO-3 risks ending two of the most accurate CO₂ monitoring missions in the world, with serious consequences for climate science, agriculture, and policy-making. For a fraction of their initial cost, these satellites continue to deliver irreplaceable data. Preserving them until viable replacements are operational would safeguard critical climate and agricultural intelligence while ensuring that the original investment achieves its intended long-term benefits.
| Ensure IAS MAins Question
Q. Discuss the significance of NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatories (OCO-2 and OCO-3) in global climate change monitoring and agriculture. What could be the implications of their premature shutdown? (250 words) |
| Ensure IAS Prelims Question
Q. Consider the following statements regarding NASA’s OCO-2 and OCO-3 missions: 1. OCO-2 orbits Earth in a sun-synchronous polar orbit. 2. OCO-3 is mounted on the International Space Station (ISS). 3. Both satellites measure atmospheric CO₂ and detect plant photosynthesis glow. Which of the above statements is/are correct? a) 1 and 2 only b) 2 and 3 only c) 1 and 3 only d) 1, 2 and 3 Answer: d) 1, 2 and 3 Explanation: Statement 1 is correct: OCO-2 operates in a sun-synchronous polar orbit, allowing it to observe the same location at the same time each day. Statement 2 is correct: OCO-3 is mounted on the International Space Station (ISS), enabling observations at different times of the day. Statement 3 is correct: Both satellites measure atmospheric CO₂ and can detect the faint “glow” from photosynthesis (solar-induced fluorescence) to track plant health. |
