MethaneSAT

Posted on: March 4, 2024 at 13:21:24 CT

Six years ago, scientists at the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund were wrapping up a major research project to measure methane leaks from oil and gas sites across Texas. Everywhere they looked — using planes, drones, ground measurements and even handheld devices — they found that gas was leaking at a far faster clip than the companies had disclosed.

What if that was happening around the world?

The scientists knew there was only one way to understand the bigger picture: Build a satellite to track methane at a global scale, something the group had never done before. As far as they could tell, no nonprofit had — only governments or private ventures.

Over the following months, E.D.F. assembled a team of about 70 scientists and engineers from academia, commercial aerospace and defense industries. And it raised about $88 million from philanthropic donors, a shoestring budget given the scope of the project.

The satellite was scheduled to blast off into space Monday on a Space X rocket.

Methane, a colorless and odorless gas, is the main ingredient in natural gas, which is burned in power plants and factories around the world, as well as in homes (think: gas stoves). Gas is far cleaner to burn than coal, but it has a big problem: It’s notoriously leaky. It seeps from oil and gas drill sites. It escapes from pipelines that carry the gas where it needs to go. And some operators simply release it into the air instead of investing in the infrastructure to capture all of it.

And that’s speeding up climate change.