MethaneSAT’s Silence Won’t Save Methane Emitters From Scrutiny - CleanTechnica

MethaneSAT, a methane-monitoring satellite developed by the Environmental Defense Fund, lost communication with ground control in June 2025 and was declared irrecoverable in July, just 15 months after launch. This failure disappointed many climate scientists and environmentalists due to the satellite’s innovative approach: it combined precise hyperspectral imaging technology with global coverage and open, publicly accessible data to identify methane leaks from sources like oil and gas fields, landfills, and agriculture. MethaneSAT’s data had already highlighted significant under-reported emissions, emphasizing the urgent need for methane emission reductions to meet climate goals, given methane’s potency as a greenhouse gas—about 80 times more effective than CO2 over 20 years. Despite MethaneSAT’s loss, the article stresses that this is not a critical setback for global methane transparency. MethaneSAT was part of a broader ecosystem of methane detection technologies, including other satellites like the privately funded GHGSat constellation, which monitors emissions from individual facilities, and the