China Launches a Satellite to Track Carbon Emissions

China has recently launched a satellite meant to track carbon emissions. The craft set off into space on December 20. Xinhua, an official from the agency, argued this represents another method to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Before the launch of this satellite, the US joined China in approving the Paris agreement bound to work on decreasing carbon emissions.

This decision appears after parts from northern China were recently engulfed in air pollution which nearly reached record levels. The smog has unfortunately affected approximately 40 cities in China.This unpleasant event which lasts for a week now has caused the closing of schools and factories, disrupting flights and determining authorities to enact red alerts. The launch of the satellite happened via a Long March-2D rocket pertaining to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre located in the northwestern Gobi Desert, marking the 243rd mission of the Long March series rockets.

The satellite known as TanSat weights about 620 kg and it was sent into space to orbit the earth at approximately seven hundred kilometers above our planet. Yin Zengshan, the chief designer of TanSat at the Chinese Academy of Sciences microsatellite research institute claimed that this rover is bound to monitor the flow, distribution, and concentration of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere.

China decided to launch this after analyzing a study which proved that world carbon emission remained constant for the third year in a row this year. The satellite is prone to send to data to policymakers around the world for approximately three years. TanSat will engage in reading the global emission of carbon dioxide at about every two weeks, establishing about four parts per million accurate data.

The space agency pointed out that the spaceship which helped at TanSat’s launch has also carried a micro-nano satellite of high resolution, but also two spectrum micro-nano satellites for forestry and agricultural purposes. The agency also stated that China represents the third country, after Japan and the US to supervise greenhouse gas emissions by using its satellite.

TanSat represents a cry for help that China decided to use to draw everybody’s attention towards climate change that slowly affects the whole planet. Every citizen of the world needs to understand how important carbon reduction is for the future of our existence.

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