\n<\/p>\n
Where is most of our planet\u2019s carbon dioxide generated and where is it absorbed again? CNES\u2019s MicroCarb mission will answer these questions by mapping the world\u2019s main carbon dioxide sources and sinks, helping scientists understand how the greenhouse gas contributes to global climate change.\u00a0<\/p>\n
MicroCarb carries an infrared spectrometer, a scientific instrument that will calculate the proportion of carbon dioxide in the air underneath it by analysing the sunlight reflected by the surface of the Earth and the oceans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Patrice Kerhousse, ESA\u2019s manager for the IOD\/IOV programme, explains: \u201cAs the instrument measures carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, it will be generating large amounts of data, which will be transmitted to the ground stations through the satellite\u2019s communication system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cReceiving this data on Earth will be a Product Data Processing unit (PDP) \u2013 a system with enough power to process the large amounts of data to extract accurate carbon dioxide measurements and make them ready and accessible to the science community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
ESA\u2019s role in the MicroCarb mission is two-fold: the agency coordinated and procured the launch service on the Vega-C rocket, as well as supported the preparation of MicroCarb\u2019s PDP and its integration in the ground segment. Both the launch and the PDP integration were carried out under the European Commission\u2019s In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD\/IOV) programme.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\t\t\t