Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory

The University of Oklahoma has partnered with NASA, commercial technology development firm Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, and commercial communications launch and hosting firm SES Government Solutions. This is an innovative collaboration working to develop the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCarb), a first-of-its-kind Earth science space mission. A hosted payload, scientific observatory ‘GeoCarb’ will be placed on a commercial communications satellite to study Earth from more than 22,000 miles above Earth’s equator, paving the way for future low-cost, commercially enabled Earth observations. Observing changes in concentrations of three key carbon gases – carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane– from day to day and year to year, will help society make a major leap forward in better understanding both natural and human changes in the carbon cycle. GeoCarb also will be measuring solar-induced-fluorescence throughout the Americas, a direct indicator of plant health and vegetation stress.