MethaneSAT to Track Methane

Published: 8th Mar, 2024

Context

MethaneSAT — a satellite to track and measure methane emissions at a global scale — was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket.

1: Dimension- Methane’s role in global warming

Methane is an invisible but strong greenhouse gas, and the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide, responsible for 30 per cent of global heating since the Industrial Revolution. Over a period of 20 years, methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.
The gas also contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone — a colourless and highly irritating gas that forms just above the Earth’s surface.
- According to a 2022 report, exposure to ground-level ozone could be contributing to one million premature deaths every year.
Therefore, it is crucial to cut methane emissions. And the main culprit: fossil fuel operations, which account for about 40 per cent of all human-caused methane emissions. The objective of MethaneSAT is to help achieve this goal.

2: Dimension- Role of MethaneSAT is filling critical data gaps

Essentially, MethaneSAT will orbit the Earth 15 times a day, monitoring the oil and gas sector.
It will create a large amount of data, which will tell “how much methane is coming from where, who’s responsible, and are those emissions going up or down over time”.
The data is to be available public for free in near real-time to allow stakeholders and regulators to take action to reduce methane emissions.
Equipped with a high-resolution infrared sensor and a spectrometer, MethaneSAT will fill critical data gaps.
It can track differences in methane concentrations as small as three parts per billion in the atmosphere, which enables it to pick up smaller emissions sources than the previous satellites.
MethaneSAT also has a wide-camera view — of about 200 km by 200 km — allowing it to identify larger emitters so-called “super emitters”.

3: Dimension- Why is MethaneSAT significant?

The launch of MethaneSAT has come at a moment when the world is implementing more stringent methane management policies.
More than 150 countries signed the Global Methane Pledge in 2021,to cut their collective methane emissions by at least 30 per cent from 2020 levels by 2030.
At last year’s COP, more than 50 companies committed to virtually eliminating methane emissions and routine flaring. MethaneSAT will help them meet these targets.

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