Methane leaks are a climate problem. These satellites could help find them.
The vision
“It doesn’t matter how many thermographers we have, boots on the ground, satellites flying in the air, people with drones and airplanes and all the other technology, none of it matters if you don’t stop methane. None of it counts.”
— Sharon Wilson, “methane hunter” and director of Oilfield Witness
The spotlight
Back when I worked with satellites (my career before journalism), and I’d talk about my job with folks from outside the space industry, they often responded simply, “Oh, cool.” It always struck me that, though satellites in many ways enable modern life, many people still think about space tech in terms of astronauts and other worlds. But satellites are what make GPS, weather forecasting, long-distance communication, and even airplane Wi-Fi possible. And a growing fleet of precision satellites are now enabling climate solutions, too: helping us …