The NASA spacecraft Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Wednesday, for final work on a July 1 launch.
The OCO-2 is designed to make accurate measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth's atmosphere, according to Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
After final examinations, the spacecraft will be attached to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket to get ready for the launch.
OCO-2 is the space agency's first satellite mission that aims towards studying CO2, the top human-produced greenhouse gas that is causing changes in Earth's climate. Greenhouse gases keep Earth warm and at habitable temperatures by trapping the sun's heat in the planet's atmosphere. However, Earth's carbon cycle is off balance because of the increases in CO2 from human activities. As a result, Earth's global temperature has increased and its climate has changed, RedOrbit reported.
NASA will use the spacecraft to learn about the sources of CO2 emissions and the natural processes that take CO2 out of the atmosphere, as well as how they change over time.
Atmospheric measurements from ground stations show that less than half of the CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels emitted into the atmosphere remain there, and that the rest, scientists believe, are absorbed by the ocean and plants on land. OCO-2 will help NASA find the natural "sinks" that absorb this CO2. By finding out how much natural processes help remove carbon from the atmosphere, scientists will be able to better predict how much CO2 these sinks will be able to absorb in the future, Jet Propulsion Laboratory reported.
The spacecraft will also keep track of the "glow" of the chlorophyll in plants, which provides new possible ways to study vegetation on land. NASA researchers worked with colleague from Japan and other countries to discover that they can use Japan's GOSAT (Greenhouse gas observing SATellite), OCO-2 and other satellites to check this "signature" of photosynthesis around the world.
OCO-2 will fly in a 438-mile altitude, near-polar orbit in formation with five other satellites part of the Afternoon (A-Train) Constellation, RedOrbit reported.
The spacecraft is made to operate, once in orbit, for at least two years. The flight formation will give researchers the chance to connect OCO-2 data with data from NASA's other spacecraft.
