An $88 million satellite designed to monitor dangerous methane leaks around the world has gone missing in space. The satellite, called MethaneSAT, was run by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and supported by billionaire Jeff Bezos.
Satellite Goes Silent After Tracking Methane From Space
It had been actively collecting data since its launch in March 2024, offering detailed information on methane emissions from oil and gas facilities.
However, around 10 days ago, satellite went off course. Its last known position was somewhere above Svalbard in Norway. The satellite lost power, making recovery all but impossible, according to EDF.
The abrupt loss of the satellite is a major blow to international environmental monitoring initiatives. We’re viewing this as a setback rather than a failure,” EDF senior vice president Amy Middleton told Reuters. We’ve come so far and learnt so much that none of these things would have been possible if we hadn’t taken this chance.
EDF has since informed several U.S. government agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the U.S. Space Force. Engineers are now trying to figure out what exactly went wrong.
What Was MethaneSAT Doing in Space?
This satellite was a special kind of satellite with a clear mission—to track emissions. Over a 20-year span, methane is an 80-fold more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. It mainly comes from oil and gas activities like drilling, transporting, and processing fossil fuels.
Even small leaks from pipelines or drilling sites can cause big problems for the environment. That’s why this satellite was such a big deal. It helped scientists and environmental groups detect these leaks and take action faster.
EDF spent years planning before launching this satellite. Additionally, it was a component of an international initiative to hold nations and oil corporations responsible. More than 120 nations committed to lowering methane emissions in 2021. Later, more than 50 oil and gas corporations pledged to prevent methane leaks and flaring at the 2023 COP28 climate meeting in Dubai.
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MethaneSAT aimed to make those promises easier to track. It even worked with Google to create a global map of emissions that was open to the public. This level of transparency had never been seen before in climate monitoring.
Though other satellites track methane too, MethaneSAT stood out. It could pinpoint emission sources more precisely, even when methane levels were low. That made it especially helpful in spotting what are known as “super-emitters”—locations that leak large amounts of methane into the air.
Funding, Insurance, and Ongoing Investigations
The project wasn’t cheap. The satellite’s construction and launch cost $88 million. In 2020, the Bezos Earth Fund awarded the EDF a $100 million grant to help fund the expedition. The TED Audacious Project, the Robertson Foundation, Arnold Ventures, and other EDF benefactors were among the other significant financial contributors. The mission also had technical support from the New Zealand Space Agency.
Despite the satellite being lost, EDF confirmed that it had insurance to cover the loss. They also emphasized that their team of engineers is still investigating the incident.
In the meantime, EDF said it will continue to use its other tools to monitor methane. These include aircraft equipped with methane-detecting spectrometers, which can still help track down emission hotspots on Earth.
It is currently uncertain whether EDF or its partners will attempt to launch another satellite. However, they noted that this satellite has already proven one major point: a small, highly sensitive satellite can detect total methane emissions over wide areas, even if those emissions are low.
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Despite all the efforts, some of the biggest polluters have been slow to act. According to a report by the United Nations, many companies identified as super-emitters have done little or nothing after being alerted about their methane leaks.
Adding to the concern is a change in U.S. policy. Under President Trump’s second administration, a U.S. program designed to collect greenhouse gas data from major polluters has been effectively shut down. Alongside that, several rules put in place under President Biden to reduce leaks have also been rolled back.
