Microcarb polarization scrambler

Monitoring the concentration of greenhouse gases from space is an important need. It can be achieved via a precise analysis of the chemical gaseous species (CO2, CH4, CO, etc.) signature in the spectrum of the reflected sunlight. The MICROCARB project aims to reach a very high quality measurement from on board a small volume Microsat platform, in 4 different spectral bands (O2 spectral band, 2 CO2 spectral bands and a CH4 spectral band), in order to locate and characterize the CO2 sinks and sources and to have a better understanding of the carbon cycle. But this is a very tricky measurement especially for the CO2 monitoring as its concentration in the atmosphere is about 380ppm and we need to measure it with accuracy better than p/− 1ppm. Another presentation is fully dedicated to the MICROCARB instrument design (see [1]).