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IT WAS designed to solve a long-standing mystery about missing carbon dioxide, but as New ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ went to press, NASA’s new climate satellite seemed to have gone AWOL itself.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) was designed to monitor exactly where and when CO₂ is being emitted and absorbed. Of the total CO₂ emitted by humans since the Industrial Revolution, roughly a third is known to have ended up in the atmosphere and a third in the oceans. The rest is missing – probably in carbon sinks on land. The OCO was supposed to have shown where.

The mission failed, says NASA.

The rocket lifted off on 24 February from a California base, but later data suggested that the fairing – intended to reduce drag – failed to separate, meaning the satellite did not reach orbit. NASA suspects it fell into the ocean near Antarctica.