Jeff Bezos’ climate-focused satellite, MethaneSAT, has suffered a devastating blow after losing power and becoming unresponsive in orbit.
The $88 million project, designed to detect global methane emissions, was declared unrecoverable just one year after its high-profile launch aboard a SpaceX rocket.
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Power Loss Ends MethaneSAT Mission
Backed by the Bezos Earth Fund, Google, and the New Zealand government, MethaneSAT was intended to revolutionize climate data transparency—but now stands as a cautionary tale in space-based environmental monitoring.
“The engineering team is conducting a thorough investigation into the loss of communication. This is expected to take time,” MethaneSAT operators said in a statement.
Launched in March 2024, MethaneSAT was hailed as one of the most sophisticated tools to monitor methane emissions. The emissions come from oil and gas operations around the globe.
For months, the satellite transmitted vital data, pinpointing key emissions hotspots and contributing to the scientific understanding of methane’s impact on climate change.
