Pollution-tracking satellite MethaneSat goes missing in space

By Eleni Poulios

MethaneSat, a pollution-tracking satellite worth $88 million (£65m) that was launched onboard a SpaceX rocket last year, has gone missing in space.

The satellite was backed by Google and Jeff Bezos, who contributed the funds, and designed to detect methane releases which are a major cause of global warming.

Losing the spacecraft represents a huge setback in the fight against climate change as methane is the most dangerous out of all the greenhouse gases, being 28 times stronger than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period.

MethaneSat’s purpose was to gather data for a duration of five years so that the world’s worst polluters could be identified and action taken.

However, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the NGO which oversees the satellite, stated that communication with it was lost and that an investigation has been launched to find out what has happened.

Methane levels still rising

Even though an international commitment to reduce methane levels by 30% by 2030 has been established, levels continue to rise instead of shrink, and it is therefore unlikely that the set target will be met, says the European Space Agency.

Other satellites are in place to monitor methane releases stemming from oil and gas production as well as farming and the decomposition of food in landfill.

Those are, however, operated privately, meaning there is a lack of transparency regarding big offenders in this matter.

In contrast, the EDF made much of MethaneSat’s data publicly available soon after its launch, allowing governments and scientists to access and review it.

The satellite has been equipped with some of the most sensitive instruments in the world, which allow it to pick up not only the big polluters but also smaller sources of methane, and further allows for better and more precise tracking of its origins.

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Satellite ‘likely not recoverable’

According to Google, there were hopes that the launch of MethaneSat would “fill gaps between existing tools”.

The corporation has been using artificial intelligence tools to process the data and create a global methane map.

However, after just one year of a five-year programme, communication with the satellite has been lost.

“To solve the climate challenge requires bold action and risk-taking, and this satellite was at the leading edge of science, technology, and advocacy”, the EDF said.

The team responsible for the satellite thinks that it may have lost power and stated “that it is likely not recoverable”.

They added that parts of the software could potentially be reused, but it is too soon to say whether a new satellite would be launched.

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