China to Launch World's First Satellite for Carbon Dioxide Monitoring in 2021

China is to launch the world's first satellite with a light detection and ranging system (LiDAR) capable of monitoring carbon dioxide in 2021, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

It is scheduled to roll off the production line this July.

Primarily developed by CASC's Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, the satellite will play a role in 24/7 monitoring of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It can also discern global vertical distribution of carbon dioxide, in cloud and aerosol formats.

Zhang Xingying, a senior researcher of the National Satellite Meteorological Center, said that the new satellite project was initiated in January 2015 and its development started in August 2017.

Compared to the previously-launched meteorological satellites based on passive remote sensing technology, the new satellite works with an LiDAR system that requires much less impact from the cloud and aerosol to be effective.

Adding that the new satellite can also work at night, it is expected to provide more effective data for research.

The highly-precise manufacturing of the satellite and its accurate data processing are challenges that must be met, Zhang said. "The application of the satellites will not only benefit China but also the entire world as it is providing technological support for the protection of our home planet."

China in 2020 announced the target of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060 for the first time in response to global climate change and environmental pollution.

The new satellite is expected to help reach those targets.

During China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the country plans to launch more satellites as a meteorological constellation for high-precision monitoring of carbon dioxide.

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)