The European Space Agency (ESA) is launching a satellite, MicroCarb, to track the Earth’s carbon dioxide and climate intensity. It is set to launch later in 2025. It is important to track the Earth’s climate because it affects the entire world. If the climate’s bad, the environment is bad. If the environment is bad, the food is likely to be bad, etc. 
MicroCarb is designed to track carbon dioxide around the world, which is an important gas. According to the CNES website, “MicroCarb is designed to map sources and sinks of carbon dioxide (CO2)—the most important greenhouse gas—on a global scale. The mission is currently in the development phase, with the launch of a microsatellite planned in 2025. This detail represents how the satellite will detect carbon dioxide. It has also been proven that carbon dioxide levels are due to human activity. According to Space4Climate, “MicroCarb will be the first European satellite designed to measure carbon fluxes on Earth by precisely measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) from all around the world – the main greenhouse gas caused by human activity.” This exemplifies the fact that the CO2 is from humans. If specific human activities continue, they could cause more climate change.
Having this knowledge will help scientists address climate change because, without it, they won’t know how or what problem to resolve. Dr Paul Bate states, “‘Having more accurate knowledge of how much carbon the world’s forests and oceans absorb will provide the reliable information needed to make decisions on tackling climate change.’” This quote demonstrates that MicroCarb will give the proper information on what’s causing the change. Knowing this information can only push the scientists further. The same article says, “MicroCarb will also enable measurement of human-influenced emissions, providing validation of inventory estimates.” This detail shows that the satellite will detect the amount of CO2 produced by humans. Once they figure this out, they will have a better idea of how to improve the environment.
MicroCarb has many unique features, some of which we have seen for the first time. Space4Climate states, “MicroCarb will be the first European satellite dedicated to measuring Carbon Dioxide (CO2) – the main greenhouse gas (GHG) caused by human activity and a key contributor to climate change.” This quote represents how the satellite is the first to measure CO2. This is special for 2025. Another unique feature about the satellite is “MicroCarb has a special city-scanning observing mode that will allow us, for the first time, to map CO2 emissions across cities, which are a large contributor to global emissions.” This fact demonstrates that this is the first time a satellite will be able to scan emissions across cities. This is significant because it makes scanning climate change easier and more efficient.
To finalize, this is why MicroCarb will be extremely effective, efficient, and helpful for the environment. Scientists will be able to gather information more easily. The ESA launching MicroCarb to track CO2 levels has the potential to improve and refine the Earth’s atmosphere, climate, and overall people’s lives.
