In its groundbreaking achievements in climate science and space innovation, the UK and France have launched MicroCarb, Europe’s first satellite dedicated solely to CO2 monitoring.
The satellite was lifted on a Vega-C rocket from Kourou, Guiana, France, and is now in orbit 650 km above Earth. Bringing a £15 million investment from the UK space agency, the mission tells us a massive advance in global climate data collection.
Co-developed by the British and French CNES space agencies, MicroCarb is the latest addition to the International Greenhouse Gas Virtual Constellations, a global network of satellites working together to monitor the Earth’s atmosphere composition.
Dr. Paul Beit, CEO of the UK Space Agency, emphasized the importance of the mission.
“More than half of the important data used to understand climate change comes from space, and the successful launch of MicroCarb is a major leap in its ability to track carbon emissions and absorption with unprecedented accuracy, from cities around the world to forests and oceans.
“Based on by UK and France’s investment and expertise, it is a proud moment for both our space sector and our powerful examples of international collaboration.”
Identify city emissions with unparalleled accuracy
What sets MicroCarb apart is its ability to track urban CO2 emissions at a highly detailed resolution of 2km x 2km.
In cities responsible for more than 70% of the world’s carbon output, this capacity is important for understanding local pollution and assessing progress towards net zero targets.
Satellite city scanning technology enables unprecedented granularity of CO2 monitoring and provides direct notification of climate policy, national carbon inventory and compliance with the Paris Agreement.
Lighting the role of nature in carbon capture
Beyond cities, Microcarb also offers important insights into natural carbon sinks such as forests and oceans.
This does so by measuring solar-induced fluorescence (SIF). This is the faint glow released by plants during photosynthesis. This allows scientists to distinguish between CO2 absorbed into vegetation and human-generated emissions.
Understanding how much carbon a planet can absorb is essential to improving climate models and identifying effective carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions.
UK expertise drives global climate innovation
British scientists and engineers have contributed at every stage of the microcurve mission.
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) provides important ground calibration systems, while RAL Space has developed satellite pointing and calibration technology.
UK-based Thales Alenia Space led the final assembly and testing of the spacecraft, and GMV UK worked with French Capgemini to design and verify a data processing algorithm that transforms raw measurements into viable climate insights.
Dr. Rob Parker of the University of Leicester has led the development of SIF recovery algorithms, and his academic leadership comes from Professor Paul Palmer of the Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) and University of Edinburgh.
The UK lead in Microcurve added: “Today, we are witnessing rapid and unprecedented changes in the global carbon cycle. Microcurves provide important SIF and atmospheric CO2 data to understand those changes.
“It also provides high quality data to revitalize aging virtual satellite constellations and notify the next global stock take of the Paris Agreement.
“More broadly, Microcarb illustrates the world-class capabilities of UK science and engineering, working closely with his French colleagues.”
Milestones in International Climate Cooperation
The MicroCarb project comes from the 2014 bilateral agreement between the UK and France and was updated in 2021 to strengthen joint space and climate technology efforts.
The satellite represents an increasingly strategic partnership between the two countries, strengthening Europe’s commitment to climate action.
Clear and verifiable CO2 monitoring is more important than ever, as the world strives to limit warming to 1.5°C.
Initial data from MicroCarb will be expected within a year and will play an important role in the formation of international climate assessments and future Earth observation missions.
With Microcarb currently on track, the era of high-resolution global CO2 monitoring has begun. It provides hope, accountability and science-based action in competition with climate change.
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