FAILED Launch feb 24th

The Launch of the OCO satellite failed today as a clamshell cover failed to release, causing the assembly to fall below orbital velocity, and crash in the Antarctic. How very unfitting. Here is what should have happened:

As the concentration of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere continues to rise, so also does public awareness, as well as efforts to find solutions to this global problem. Increasing concentrations of this potent greenhouse gas threaten to alter Earth’s climate in ways that will have profound impacts on the welfare and productivity of society and Earth’s ecosystems.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientist Charles David Keeling’s Mauna Loa carbon dioxide record, the longest continuous record of atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements. Until now, precise ground-based measurements such as these have been the main tool for scientists monitoring the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.

Comparisons of these data with carbon dioxide emission rates from fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning and other human activities tell us that only about half of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere during this period has remained there. The rest has apparently been absorbed by surface “sinks” in the land biosphere or oceans. These measurements also show that, despite the steady long-term growth of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the buildup varies dramatically from year to year, even though emissions have increased smoothly. However, the ground-based carbon dioxide monitoring network is too sparse to identify the locations of these sinks or tell us what controls changes in their efficiency from year to year.

NASA’s new Orbiting Carbon Observatory is designed to help meet this need. It will measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over any spot on Earth’s surface and establish a record of how carbon dioxide concentrations change over time. Observations from the mission will improve our understanding of the carbon cycle—the movement of carbon among its “reservoirs” in the Earth system–and help us understand the influence of the carbon cycle on climate.

The observatory’s ability to locate and monitor changes in carbon sources (places where carbon is generated) and sinks (places where carbon is absorbed or stored) will provide valuable information to support decision making by those responsible for managing carbon in the environment. It will assist them in developing effective strategies for managing global carbon dioxide and monitoring the effectiveness of those strategies.

“As the ocean absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide, seawater becomes more acidic, potentially threatening marine life. By monitoring changes in the ocean’s carbon uptake, the mission may shed new light on ocean acidification and the resulting changes in ocean ecosystems,” said Sheffner. Knowing more about how ocean carbon levels fluctuate will also help scientists evaluate the possibility of using biological or chemical processes in the ocean to sequester carbon and perhaps even mitigate ocean acidification.

Sheffner explained that the Orbiting Carbon Observatory may also aid efforts to find effective ways to store excess carbon safely underground. Combining mission data with observations from airborne and ground-based instruments will create much more accurate maps of global carbon sources and sinks than were ever possible before. “Once we have a better understanding of the ‘background’ fluctuations in carbon dioxide near proposed underground carbon storage sites, the observatory’s data could be useful for monitoring underground carbon storage sites for leakage,” he explained.

“The Orbiting Carbon Observatory will provide information needed for evaluating policy options and monitoring the effectiveness of efforts to reduce carbon emissions and increase carbon sequestration locally, regionally and globally,” Sheffner said, in summing up.

Looking to the future, DeCola said the mission will serve as a prototype for the next generation of greenhouse gas space missions. “The Orbiting Carbon Observatory will be an important experiment because its results will be used to develop the future long-term, space-based missions needed to monitor carbon dioxide for science and decision support,” he said.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/oco/main/index.html