Trump to shut down NASA missions that monitor carbon dioxide and plant heath

The Trump administration is moving to shut down two NASA missions that monitor a potent greenhouse gas and plant health, potentially shutting off an important source of data for scientists, policymakers and farmers.

President Donald Trump's budget request for fiscal year 2026 includes no money for the Orbiting Carbon Observatories, which can precisely show where carbon dioxide is being emitted and absorbed and how well crops are growing.

NASA said in an emailed statement on Wednesday that the missions were "beyond their prime mission" and being terminated "to align with the President's agenda and budget priorities".

But the missions a free-flying satellite launched in 2014 and an instrument attached to the International Space Station in 2019 that include technology used in the Hubble Space Telescope still are more sensitive and accurate than any other systems in the world, operating or planned, and a "national asset" that should be saved, said David Crisp, a retired NASA scientist who led their development.

They helped scientists discover, for example, that the Amazon rain forest emits more carbon dioxide than it absorbs, while boreal forests in Canada, Russia and places where permafrost is melting absorb more than they emit, Crisp said.

They also can detect the "glow" of photosynthesis in plants, which helps monitor drought and predict food shortages that can lead to civil unrest and famine, he said.

"This is really critical," Crisp said. "We are learning so much about this rapidly-changing planet."

The decision to end the missions is "extremely shortsighted", said Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist at the University of Michigan.