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DW
2 days ago
- Science
- DW
Methane-tracking satellite backed by Bezos lost in space – DW – 07/02/2025
A satellite backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been lost in space. MethaneSAT had been collecting emissions data and images from drilling sites, pipelines, and processing facilities around the world. An $88 million (€77.4 million) satellite backed by Jeff Bezos has disappeared in space while conducting a climate change mission, New Zealand officials said on Wednesday. MethaneSAT, which was designed to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions with "unprecedented resolution," was also funded by Wellington and the US-based Environmental Defense Fund. However, the satellite was plagued with technical problems and recently stopped responding to its Earth-bound controllers. "Clearly, this is a disappointing development," said Andrew Johnson, a senior official at the New Zealand Space Agency. "As those who work in the space sector know, space is inherently challenging, and every attempt — successful or not — pushes the boundaries of what we know and what we're capable of." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which was in charge of the project, said it was "difficult news" but would not relent in its efforts to track methane. "We're seeing this as a setback, not a failure," Amy Middleton, senior vice president at the EDF, told the Reuters news agency. "We've made so much progress and so much has been learned that if we hadn't taken this risk, we wouldn't have any of these learnings." The launch of MethaneSAT in March of last year was a milestone in a years-long campaign to hold some 120 countries accountable to their 2021 pledge to curb methane emissions. It also sought to help enforce a further pledge from 50 oil and gas firms made at the Dubai COP28 climate summit in December 2023 to eliminate methane and routine gas flaring. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Scientists say capping leaks from oil and gas wells and equipment is therefore one of the fastest ways to start tackling the problem of global warming. The EDF had received a $100 million funding boost from the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 and received other financial support from Arnold Ventures, the Robertson Foundation and the TED Audacious Project and EDF donors. The mission was also carried out in partnership with the New Zealand Space Agency.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Science
- The Hindu
Jeff Bezos-backed $88 million methane tracking satellite is lost in space
An $88 million satellite backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos that detected oil and gas industry emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane has been lost in space, the group that operates said on Tuesday (July 1, 2025). MethaneSAT had been collecting emissions data and images from drilling sites, pipelines, and processing facilities around the world since March, but went off course around 10 days ago, the Environmental Defense Fund, which led the initiative, said. Its last known location was over Svalbard in Norway and EDF said it did not expect it to be recovered as it had lost power. "We're seeing this as a setback, not a failure," Amy Middleton, senior vice president at EDF, told Reuters. "We've made so much progress and so much has been learned that if we hadn't taken this risk, we wouldn't have any of these learnings." The launch of MethaneSAT in March 2024 was a milestone in a years-long campaign by EDF to hold accountable the more than 120 countries that in 2021 pledged to curb their methane emissions. It also sought to help enforce a further promise from 50 oil and gas companies made at the Dubai COP28 climate summit in December 2023 to eliminate methane and routine gas flaring. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Scientists say capping leaks from oil and gas wells and equipment is therefore one of the fastest ways to start tackling the problem of global warming. While MethaneSAT was not the only project to publish satellite data on methane emissions, its backers said it provided more detail on emissions sources and it partnered with Google to to create a publicly-available global map of emissions. ENGINEERS INVESTIGATING EDF reported the lost satellite to federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Space Force on Tuesday, it said. Building and launching the satellite cost $88 million, according to the EDF. The organization had received a $100 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 and got other major financial support from Arnold Ventures, the Robertson Foundation and the TED Audacious Project and EDF donors. The project was also partnered with the New Zealand Space Agency. EDF said it had insurance to cover the loss and its engineers were investigating what had happened. The organization said it would continue to use its resources, including aircraft with methane-detecting spectrometers, to look for methane leaks. It also said it was too early to say whether it would seek to launch another satellite but believed MethaneSAT proved that a highly sensitive instrument "could see total methane emissions, even at low levels, over wide areas." Despite the efforts to increase transparency on emissions, methane "super-emitters" have rarely taken action when alerted that they are leaking methane, the United Nations said in a report last year. The pressure on them to do has decreased as the United States under President Donald Trump's second administration has effectively ended a U.S. program to collect greenhouse gas data from major polluters and rescinded Biden-era rules aimed at curbing methane.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Bezos-backed methane tracking satellite is lost in space
By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON: An $88 million satellite backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos that detected oil and gas industry's emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane has been lost in space, the group that operates it told Reuters on Tuesday. MethaneSAT had been collecting emissions data and images from drilling sites, pipelines, and processing facilities around the world since March, but went off course around 10 days ago, the Environmental Defense Fund , which led the initiative, said. Its last known location was over Svalbard in Norway and EDF said it did not expect it to be recovered as it had lost power. "We're seeing this as a setback, not a failure," Amy Middleton, senior vice president at EDF, told Reuters. "We've made so much progress and so much has been learned that if we hadn't taken this risk, we wouldn't have any of these learnings." The launch of MethaneSAT last March was a milestone in a years-long campaign by EDF to hold accountable the more than 120 countries that in 2021 pledged to curb their methane emissions . It also sought to help enforce a further promise from 50 oil and gas companies made at the Dubai COP28 climate summit in December 2023 to eliminate methane and routine gas flaring. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Scientists say capping leaks from oil and gas wells and equipment is therefore one of the fastest ways to start tackling the problem of global warming. While MethaneSAT was not the only project to publish satellite data on methane emissions, its backers said it provided more detail on emissions sources and it partnered with Google to to create a publicly-available global map of emissions. EDF reported the lost satellite to federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Space Force on Tuesday, it said. Building and launching the satellite cost $88 million, according to the EDF. The organization had received a $100 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 and got other major financial support from Arnold Ventures, the Robertson Foundation and the TED Audacious Project and EDF donors. The project was also partnered with the New Zealand Space Agency. EDF said it had insurance to cover the loss and its engineers were investigating what had happened. It said it would continue to use its resources, including aircraft with methane-detecting spectrometers, to look for methane leaks. Despite the efforts to increase transparency on emissions, methane "super-emitters" have rarely taken action when alerted that they are leaking methane, the United Nations said in a report last year. The pressure on them to do has decreased as the United States under President Donald Trump's second administration has effectively ended a U.S. program to collect greenhouse gas data from major polluters and rescinded Biden-era rules aimed at curbing methane.
GMA Network
2 days ago
- Science
- GMA Network
Bezos-backed methane tracking satellite is lost in space
WASHINGTON —An $88 million satellite backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos that detected oil and gas industry emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane has been lost in space, the group that operates said on Tuesday. MethaneSAT had been collecting emissions data and images from drilling sites, pipelines, and processing facilities around the world since March, but went off course around 10 days ago, the Environmental Defense Fund, which led the initiative, said. Its last known location was over Svalbard in Norway and EDF said it did not expect it to be recovered as it had lost power. "We're seeing this as a setback, not a failure," Amy Middleton, senior vice president at EDF, told Reuters. "We've made so much progress and so much has been learned that if we hadn't taken this risk, we wouldn't have any of these learnings." The launch of MethaneSAT in March 2024 was a milestone in a years-long campaign by EDF to hold accountable the more than 120 countries that in 2021 pledged to curb their methane emissions. It also sought to help enforce a further promise from 50 oil and gas companies made at the Dubai COP28 climate summit in December 2023 to eliminate methane and routine gas flaring. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Scientists say capping leaks from oil and gas wells and equipment is therefore one of the fastest ways to start tackling the problem of global warming. While MethaneSAT was not the only project to publish satellite data on methane emissions, its backers said it provided more detail on emissions sources and it partnered with Google to GOOGL.O to create a publicly-available global map of emissions. Engineers investigating EDF reported the lost satellite to federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Space Force on Tuesday, it said. Building and launching the satellite cost $88 million, according to the EDF. The organization had received a $100 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 and got other major financial support from Arnold Ventures, the Robertson Foundation and the TED Audacious Project and EDF donors. The project was also partnered with the New Zealand Space Agency. EDF said it had insurance to cover the loss and its engineers were investigating what had happened. The organization said it would continue to use its resources, including aircraft with methane-detecting spectrometers, to look for methane leaks. It also said it was too early to say whether it would seek to launch another satellite but believed MethaneSAT proved that a highly sensitive instrument "could see total methane emissions, even at low levels, over wide areas." Despite the efforts to increase transparency on emissions, methane "super-emitters" have rarely taken action when alerted that they are leaking methane, the United Nations said in a report last year. The pressure on them to do has decreased as the United States under President Donald Trump's second administration has effectively ended a U.S. program to collect greenhouse gas data from major polluters and rescinded Biden-era rules aimed at curbing methane.—Reuters
