Designed to measure greenhouse gas emissions with a “unprecedented resolution“, The Methanesat space probe was also funded by Wellington and the Environment Defense Fund, an NGO based in the United States.
In the grip of technical problems, the satellite has ceased to respond to its controllers on Earth. They lost contact with him on June 20, the Methanesat team said in a statement. They confirmed that the satellite had lost all its power last Monday and that it was “Probably irrecoverable“. “Obviously, this is a disappointing evolution“Said Andrew Johnson, a New Zealand space agency official.
The Environment Defense Fund, who framed the project, said it was a “Difficult new“, But that it would not end its methane monitoring efforts, a powerful greenhouse gas. Methanesat was designed to measure methane emissions that feed climate change by holding heat in the atmosphere of the planet.”It was one of the most advanced methane monitoring satellites in space, which measured methane emissions in oil and gas producing regions around the world“Said the Methanesat team. The satellite was launched in space in March 2024 at the back of a SpaceX rocket from California.
