"Probably not salvageable":Satellite abruptly failed in search for methane leaks
MethaneSAT searched for methane leaks on behalf of an environmental protection organization. After 15 months, the project came to an abrupt and unexpected end.
Artistic representation of the satellite above the earth
(Image: MethaneSAT/EDF)
A special satellite for the high-precision search for methane leaks has suddenly and unexpectedly failed after 15 months in operation, making a rescue unlikely. The non-profit environmental organization EDF (Environmental Defense Fund) has now announced that contact with the satellite called MethaneSAT was lost on 20 June. It is now known that it no longer has any power at all. There had been no signs of any problems beforehand and an investigation is still ongoing, those responsible told Science magazine. The failure is a major setback for the precise search for the sources of the potent greenhouse gas.
Satellite with an unusual background
The MethaneSAT was launched into space in March 2024 and has been searching for methane leaks with particularly high precision ever since. The special thing about the mission is that it is not backed by a state or a profit-oriented company. Instead, the USD 90 million satellite was created as an extensive cooperation project between EDF and research and environmental protection organizations, financed with money from Jeff Bezos, among others. The New Zealand government also supported the project. According to EDF, the mission was a “remarkable success” until its abrupt end and will have a lasting impact on the industry and regulatory authorities. The satellite was actually supposed to collect data for five years.
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The search for methane leaks and their closure is of great importance in the fight against climate change. The gas is much more effective as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and contributes significantly to global warming. At the same time, however, it does not remain in the atmosphere for as long, so the effects are much shorter-term than those of COâ‚‚. Methane emissions have risen sharply in recent years. This increase could turn out to be the biggest obstacle on the way to limiting global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, which is why reducing methane emissions is considered particularly desirable.
After the end of MethaneSAT, however, mankind is not blind in its search for methane leaks. ESA operates Sentinel-5P, an earth observation satellite that can locate the largest sources of methane emissions and has already been extremely successful in doing so. According to this satellite, coal production areas in Russia are primarily responsible for large quantities in the atmosphere, as well as oil and gas production areas in Turkmenistan and the USA. However, this and similar satellites cannot find such small leaks as MethaneSAT has done, explains Science. It has been able to detect methane concentrations of just two particles per billion (ppb). Whether there will be a successor is unclear.
(mho)
