Europe’s new carbon-monitoring mission launches on Vega-C

The MicroCarb mission, led by the French space agency CNES, will monitor carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to help identify the world’s main sources and sinks of this important greenhouse gas. Launched on 25 July on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, the mission benefitted from the In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD/IOV) programme managed by the European Space Agency (ESA) on behalf of the European Commission.