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OCO-3

Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3, or OCO-3, is a space instrument designed to investigate important questions about the distribution of carbon dioxide on Earth as it relates to growing urban populations and changing patterns of fossil fuel combustion.

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Mission Statistics

Time in Orbit

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Launch Date

May 4, 2019

Type

Instrument

Target

Earth

Status

Current

About the mission

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3, or OCO-3, is a space instrument designed to investigate important questions about the distribution of carbon dioxide on Earth as it relates to growing urban populations and changing patterns of fossil fuel combustion.

NASA has developed and assembled the instrument using spare materials from the successful development and launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 in 2014 and will host the instrument on the Japanese Experiment Module- Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) onboard the International Space Station.

Mission Highlights

May 3, 2019

Launch

OCO-3 was launched May 3, 2019, from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Target: Earth
Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3

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  • OCO-3 Mission Website
  • Fact Sheet (PDF)

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