The UK Space Agency to Work Along with CNES on a New Climate Change Mission MicroCarb

The UK Space Agency has ensured additional funding for a joint British-French climate change mission, MicroCarb. The project will monitor carbon dioxide emission levels and is due to launch in 2023. The latest implementation agreement was signed during COP26 – an annual climate change conference, which, this November, was held in Glasgow.

UK Authorities on the New Climate Change Mission

According to the UK Science Minister George Freeman, Scotland is already a leader in using satellite data to fight climate change, and the latest joint climate change mission is the logical continuation of the UK’s contribution to solving a common problem. Freeman adds that the UK National Space Strategy is determined to fight global challenges through international collaboration. The MicroCarb project sets the UK at the front of the European space mission and builds on the British goal of reaching zero emission levels.

UK Space Agency on MicroCarb Project

According to the latest agreement, the UK Space Agency will provide an additional £3.9 million in funding for the MicroCarb climate change mission. The total amount of funding from the UKSA since it started working with CNES is £13.9 million. The latest round of financing is aimed at building and testing a satellite led by Thales Alenia Space. Eventually, experts from Leicester and Edinburgh will translate satellite data into CO2 maps.

Dr Paul Bate, chief executive at the UK Space Agency, adds that most greenhouse emission measurements today rely on satellite data. However, it is still important to make this data more precise so that policymakers worldwide would have a clear picture of how forests and oceans absorb carbon dioxide – the main greenhouse gas resulting from human industrial activity.

The UK Space Agency executive adds that collaboration with CNES on a new climate change mission is an exciting opportunity to build and fine-tune cutting-edge satellite technologies.