The US administration asked NASA to prepare for the abolition of two satellite missions dedicated to monitoring climate change. Today they are used to collect data for farmers and oil and gas companies.
The American president and his government are climatosceptic and make it known. Several decisions endangering, even more, the environment have been made since the start of Donald Trump’s second term in January 2025.
This time, the sulphurous president decided to tackle satellite missions dedicated to surveillance of climate change, report our American colleagues in futurism, a media dedicated science and technologies and NPR, a network of public radios.
Concretely, officials of the government of Donald Trump asked NASA to create plans to remove these two missions, which make it possible to collect information for oil and gas companies, but also in particular to farmers. They allow, for example, to obtain data on the distribution of carbon dioxide and the health of crops. Markers that allow you to follow the effects of climate change
“Data of exceptional quality”
According to Futurism, one of the satellites is attached to the international space station, but the other works independently. The latter would burn in the atmosphere if the mission was stopped.
The reasons for this judgment potential were not communicated by the Trump administration. For some scientists, it is incomprehensible especially because this equipment works very well.
According to an assessment carried out by NASA in 2023, “the data collected was of exceptional quality”. The organization has even recommended to continue these missions for another “at least three years”.
The economic question does not make sense, according to David Crisp, scientist of NASA who managed the missions until 2022, quoted by NPR. According to him, these missions only cost $ 15 million a year, “a small fraction of the budget of $ 25.4 billion from the” space.
Legality issues also arise. These requests from the Trump administration are taking place when the credits have already been voted for 2025. According to our colleagues from the digital, a counterbudget which maintains the funding was proposed by the Senate.
