NASA will not monitor greenhouse gases from space with GeoCarb satellite because of cost increase from $170.9 million to $600 million

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has decided to close the GeoCarb project. The mission to monitor carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has been terminated due to a significant increase in cost.

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NASA announced its participation in the GeoCarb project six years ago. A special satellite was developed for the program. Specialists from the University of Oklahoma and the American defense company Lockheed Martin took part in its creation.

The federal department was planning to send a spacecraft into a geostationary orbit. The key reason for cancelling the project was the increase in the estimated cost from the original $ 170.9 million to $ 600 million, that is more than 200%.

However, NASA does not want to give up on carbon dioxide monitoring. Instead of the satellite, the space agency will use the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) equipment, which was delivered to the International Space Station a few months ago. It will be assisted by an instrument called Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3. It has been on the station since 2019.

Source: space