Carbon monoxide is considered a pollutant and trace gas in the atmosphere, meaning it is less than 1% by volume of the gases comprising the atmosphere. The gas is largely produced through the incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels such as wood and oil. Carbon monoxide from fuel use plays a major role in disrupting atmospheric chemistry, inhibiting natural processes that help cleans the atmosphere of other pollutants as well contributing to the formation of ground-level ozone and urban smog.

For decades, NASA has been orbiting instruments that monitor carbon monoxide from space, including the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES), Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). As a result, NASA has hundreds of datasets researchers can use to conduct a wide variety of atmospheric chemistry, air quality, pollution, and climate change studies.