Two satellite missions of NASA OCO-2 and OCO-3 and OCO-3-could soon end, not due to a technical failure, but because of federal budgetary decisions. These two missions are part of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory program and have been designed to follow the evolution of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere. They have also provided unexpected data on plant growth thanks to data on global photosynthesis. These satellites are widely used in all sectors – researchers at the Ministry of Agriculture – for the monitoring of greenhouse gases and culture health.
According to NPRL’Ontretian of the two satellites costs approximately $ 15 million a year. However, their design and launch have already consumed more than $ 750 million in public funds. The failure of the launch of in 2009 also increased the cost of the program.
Despite their scientific value, the recent measures taken by the Trump administration are completely worrying. Internal discussions to NASA would have focused on “phase F” plans, which describe how to end the missions. One of the two satellites, an autonomous orbit unit, would burn during its return to the atmosphere if it was put out of service. Scientists claim that these missions still provide us with essential climatic data and that we should not end it prematurely.
NASA has already asked private companies and universities to take care of the maintenance of the OCO-3 unit aboard the international space station. However, according to experts, if the private sector plays an increasing role in the observation of the land, many of these efforts are still based on fundamental public investments.
The Congress financed the missions until September 2025, but the long -term prospects are at the very least dark. A study carried out by NASA in 2023 recommended continuing the missions for at least three additional years. However, the budget proposed by the Trump administration for the 2026 fiscal year provides significant cuts, which arouses accusations of excess of power from civil servants like Russ Vought to the OMB.
As there is not (yet) official explanation on the part of the administration, we will have to expect one to find out why missions that continue to provide precious climatic data could be dismantled.