Methane emissions are often underestimated and underreported, posing a much bigger problem than we once thought. Methane is a greenhouse gas up to 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after release. It’s responsible for about 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times. Yet, because methane can leak from oil wells, landfills, and other sources without immediate detection, it’s often called the “invisible” problem. But this is about to change.

With the launch of the Tanager-1 satellite by the Carbon Mapper Coalition, methane leaks from a variety of industries and sites can be detected from space with unprecedented accuracy. Not only is this satellite a game changer for methane, but it also tracks carbon dioxide emissions — another crucial greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.

Now, the instrument has taken its first true measurements, and it’s already very useful.

A New Era in Greenhouse Gas Detection

The Carbon Mapper Coalition’s Tanager-1 satellite was launched with one clear goal: to identify and measure methane and carbon dioxide emissions in real-time across the globe. In the past, pinpointing leaks of these potent gases required on-the-ground investigations. This, naturally, could take considerable time and resources. But, with the arrival of this new satellite technology, emissions detection is entering a new era of speed, precision, and global reach.

On its very first operational outing, the Tanager-1 satellite delivered startling results. In September, it captured a 2.5-mile-long methane plume over a landfill in Karachi, Pakistan. The estimated emission rate? Over 2,600 pounds (1,200 kilograms) of methane per hour, roughly the equivalent methane release of 20 cows in a day or burning 300 pounds of coal every hour. These kinds of measurements, previously hard to obtain, are now possible with Tanager-1’s cutting-edge sensors.

But methane isn’t the only gas on Tanager-1’s radar. On the same day, the satellite also identified a 2-mile-long plume of carbon dioxide over the coal-fired Kendal Power Station in South Africa, with an estimated emission of 1.3 million pounds (600,000 kilograms) per hour. Carbon dioxide is far less potent than methane, but it remains the most significant contributor to global warming in sheer volume. Seeing these emissions from space offers a unique opportunity to tackle the problem at its source.

“The first greenhouse gas images from Tanager-1 are exciting and are a compelling sign of things to come,” said James Graf, director for Earth Science and Technology at JPL. “The satellite plays a crucial role in detecting and measuring methane and carbon dioxide emissions. The mission is a giant step forward in addressing greenhouse gas emissions.”

An eye in the sky tracking emissions

At the core of Tanager-1’s technology is an advanced imaging spectrometer, first developed decades ago by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The initial version of this technology, called AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer), emerged in the 1980s. Since then, continuous innovation has improved both the sensitivity and the precision of these instruments.

In 2022, NASA further advanced the technology by placing EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) aboard the International Space Station. This was primarily to study the role of dust in the Earth’s climate system. EMIT, however, also demonstrated remarkable capabilities in detecting methane plumes from orbit.

The Tanager-1 spectrometer takes this innovation a step further, scanning a broad range of wavelengths — literally thousands — reflected off the Earth’s surface. By analyzing how these light waves are absorbed or scattered, scientists can pinpoint the spectral “fingerprint” of gases like methane and carbon dioxide.

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of the Tanager-1 satellite is its sheer reach. Each day, the satellite covers around 116,000 square miles (300,000 square kilometers) of the Earth’s surface. That’s the equivalent of scanning a landmass larger than the state of Arizona every 24 hours. This broad coverage allows for continuous monitoring of both routine industrial emissions and unexpected gas leaks.

For instance, the satellite’s mid-September pass over the Permian Basin in Texas — home to one of the world’s largest oil fields — captured a significant methane leak in real-time. Methane emissions from oil and gas operations are particularly troublesome because the gas can escape at multiple stages, from drilling to transportation.

With the ability to detect leaks as they happen, the Tanager-1 satellite could enable industries to address methane emissions quickly and efficiently, preventing untold amounts of greenhouse gases from reaching the atmosphere.

The satellite is still not fully operational, but when it is, the data will be publicly available at the Carbon Mapper data portal.