Signal A non-profit satellite constellation targeting 80% of methane and CO2 detection

Summary

Carbon Mapper, a non-profit based in California, is building a satellite network to monitor greenhouse gas emissions from space. Its focus is on methane and carbon dioxide, two of the gases most relevant to climate change. The organisation enabled Tanager-1, a satellite of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that carries a fifth-generation imaging spectrometer and was launched in 2024. Three more Tanager satellites are planned to join it in orbit. Once complete, the constellation is expected to be able to detect 80% of global methane and carbon dioxide emissions, giving a far wider view of where emissions come from.