The MethaneSAT satellite, which was expected to change our understanding of methane emissions, unexpectedly failed less than a year and a half after launch. The vehicle cannot be repaired.
MethaneSAT was operated by the non-profit organization Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The satellite was launched in March 2024. Its main task was to collect information on methane emissions from oil and gas wells, livestock farming, landfills, and wetlands. While some satellites are designed to track individual sources and others can observe entire regions, MethaneSAT was aimed at detecting methane on a medium scale. This made it an ideal instrument for detecting emissions from oil and gas production.
According to experts, the highly sensitive spectrometers developed specifically for MethaneSAT have exceeded expectations. Combined with algorithms and software, they proved capable of detecting both large emissions and smaller ones scattered across vast areas, which were invisible from space before MethaneSAT.
Unfortunately, communication with MethaneSAT was unexpectedly lost on June 20. Over the next few days, the mission’s experts tried to get back in touch with the spacecraft, but they didn’t have any luck. According to their assessment, the satellite lost power, which means that it will not be possible to return it to service.
According to EDF, scientists will continue to analyze data obtained from the satellite and will publish additional images of emissions in gas and oil production regions in the coming months. The loss of the satellite was a serious setback for efforts to track and stop methane emissions, which are currently responsible for about one-third of the anthropogenic increase in global temperatures.
Earlier, we reported on how global warming threatened satellites in Earth orbit.
According to Methanesat
