The US government would have asked NASA to end two major satellite missions dedicated to surveillance of climate change. This is what reveals NPRa network of public radios, in an article published Monday. The two satellites concerned in particular make it possible to obtain data on the distribution of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the health of cultures.
This information is widely used today by scientists studying global warming, but also by farmers and oil and gas companies. According to the specialized media FuturismOne of the satellites is attached to the international space station. The other operates independently and would therefore burn in the atmosphere if the mission was stopped.
A “catastrophic” decision
If the Trump administration has not yet communicated on this potential, researchers are already upon this decision. For good reason, according to a study carried out by NASA in 2023, these observatories provide “exceptional quality” data. The agency had even recommended to continue these missions for another “at least three years”.
In addition to being very useful, these missions do not cost especially David Crisp, a former NASA scientist who designed these instruments and managed the missions until he retired in 2022. According to him, they only cost $ 15 million per year while the budget of the space agency is 25.4 billion dollars.
Only the categorical denial of Donald Trump in the face of climate change and his drastic budget cuts could explain this sudden judgment. Quoted by NPRZoe Lofgren, representative in the congress, recalls, however, that scuttle of missions already voted and funded would contravene the budgetary law in force. It denounces a “catastrophic (which) decision would seriously compromise our ability to predict, manage and react to violent weather phenomena and climatic disasters”.