On Space Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California a worker applies a mission decal.

On Space Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a worker applies a mission decal to NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, spacecraft. The spacecraft is scheduled for launch aboard Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket Feb. 24 from Vandenberg. The spacecraft will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists will analyze OCO data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important greenhouse gas. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB