SpaceX just blasted a critical NASA instrument into space

NASA's carbon-detecting sleuth has left Earth.
SpaceX launched the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) to the International Space Station (ISS) at 2:48 a.m. ET on Saturday morning aboard the company's dependable Falcon 9 rocket. After NASA's cargo load arrives at the ISS, astronauts will use a long robotic arm to attach the refrigerator-sized instrument to the side of the earth-orbiting station.  
OCO-3 will peer down on Earth, keeping tabs on the planet's amassing carbon dioxide emission