TanSat, also known as CarbonSat, is a Chinese

Earth observation satellite An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...

dedicated to monitoring

carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is a trace gas that plays an integral part in the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, photosynthesis and oceanic carbon cycle. It is one of several greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere that are contributing t ...

. It is generally classified as a

minisatellite A minisatellite is a tract of repetitive DNA in which certain DNA motifs (ranging in length from 10–60 base pairs) are typically repeated 5-50 times. Minisatellites occur at more than 1,000 locations in the human genome and they are notable for ...

, and is the first dedicated carbon mission of the

Chinese space program The space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). China's space program has overseen the development and launch of ballistic missiles, thousands of artificial satellites, mann ...

. The mission was formally proposed in 2010, and work began in January 2011. It is funded by the

Ministry of Science and Technology A Science Ministry or Department of Science is a ministry or other government agency charged with science. The ministry is often headed by a Minister for Science. List of Ministries of Science Many countries have a Ministry of Science or Ministry ...

(MOST) and was built by the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem And Information Technology (SIMIT). TanSat carries two instruments: the Carbon Dioxide Spectrometer and the Cloud and Aerosol Polarimetry Imager. The Carbon Dioxide Spectrometer (CDS), also called CarbonSpec, is a high-resolution

grating A grating is any regularly spaced collection of essentially identical, parallel, elongated elements. Gratings usually consist of a single set of elongated elements, but can consist of two sets, in which case the second set is usually perpendicul ...

spectrometer A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomenon where the ...

which measures

absorption Absorption may refer to: Chemistry and biology * Absorption (biology), digestion **Absorption (small intestine) *Absorption (chemistry), diffusion of particles of gas or liquid into liquid or solid materials *Absorption (skin), a route by which ...

at 1.61

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

and 2.06 μm, and absorption in reflected sunlight at 0.76 μm. The Cloud and Aerosol Polarimetry Imager (CAPI) is a wide-field, moderate-resolution,

imaging spectrometer An imaging spectrometer is an instrument used in hyperspectral imaging and imaging spectroscopy to acquire a spectrally-resolved image of an object or scene, often referred to as a datacube due to the three-dimensional representation of the data. T ...

which works in concert with CDS by compensating for measurement errors caused by clouds and

aerosol An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be natural or Human impact on the environment, anthropogenic. Examples of natural aerosols are fog o ...

s. It makes observations in ultraviolet (0.38 μm), visible (0.67 μm), and near infrared (0.87 μm, 1.375 μm, and 1.64 μm).

References

Spacecraft launched in 2016 Spacecraft launched by Long March rockets Carbon dioxide 2016 in China Earth observation satellites of China {{China-spacecraft-stub Satellites monitoring GHG emissions

See also

References