A rocket with a satellite was launched from the US state of Florida to measure the level of air pollution over North America. Will this technology soon be used worldwide in climate protection, for example to monitor emissions?
In the fight against climate change, the reduction of polluting emissions plays a central role. Providing a consolidated overview of the emissions situation is an important part of climate protection. This is the only way to assess harmful emissions with precision and reliability and to take targeted measures. However, this technology is not yet available on a scale that would allow the entire planet and its associated emissions to be analysed centrally. This could change in the future, however, as a new project has just begun.
Last week, a Falcon 9 rocket from the private US space company SpaceX was launched into space from the NASA base at Cape Canaveral in Florida (USA). On board - NASA explains - is a new instrument designed to measure air pollution over North America. From Puerto Rico to Canada, the instrument, called "Tempo", is intended to provide unprecedented monitoring of air pollutants. Access to accurate and constantly updated data will support research and provide information on the level of air pollution in each area monitored - even down to individual neighbourhoods.
According to NASA space engineer and Tempo project leader Kevin Daugherty, the first data from the spectrometer will be collected starting this October. At a later date, however, they will also be made available to the public. The collected data can play an important role in the future, but also at present. The detailed predictions about the individual regions can provide forecasts about measured and expected pollutant formation and help to introduce tailor-made climate protection measures that can counteract environmental and air pollution. For example, already active environmental zones can be tightened on the basis of indications from the measuring device, or new ones can be created in areas that suffer particularly from air pollution. In addition, the speed measuring device will at the same time help to research the health effects of air pollutants.
It is therefore not inconceivable that, if successful, the project will be continued - and extended to other regions of the world in cooperation with governments from all over the world. Ultimately, the contribution that the rocket can make to climate protection is great. Whether technical requirements and financial resources will even be able to realise such a global project is not yet foreseeable today.