What is the TEMPO satellite?

About TEMPO satellite 

• Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) monitors major air pollutants across North America.
• Its monitoring range extends from Canada’s oil sands to the Yucatán Peninsula and across the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
• It is part of a virtual constellation with South Korea’s Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) and the European Space Agency’s upcoming satellite, aiming for comprehensive air pollution monitoring over the Northern Hemisphere.
• It will make important scientific observations, including that of ozone, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and formaldehyde levels.
• It is capable of measuring air quality over North America hourly during the daytime with a resolution of several square miles.
• It monitors the effects of everything from rush-hour traffic to pollution from forest fires and volcanoes.
• The present pollution-monitoring satellites are in low Earth orbit (LEO), but this new monitoring instrument is hosted in geostationary orbit.
• It was designed for a 20-month operation.

Q1) What is Ozone?

Ozone is an odorless, colorless gas made up of three oxygen molecules (O3) and is a natural part of the environment. It occurs both in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, or stratosphere, and at ground level in the lower atmosphere, or troposphere.

Source: 10 things to know about NASA’s TEMPO satellite that monitors air pollution hourly over North America

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