Today's Edition
WELLINGTON (AFP)
A satellite backed by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been lost in space while carrying out an important climate change mission, New Zealand officials said Wednesday.
Designed to measure greenhouse gas emissions with "unprecedented resolution", the MethaneSAT space probe was also funded by Wellington and the US-based Environmental Defense Fund.
Plagued with technical problems, the satellite recently stopped responding to its Earth-bound controllers.
"Clearly, this is a disappointing development," said Andrew Johnson, a senior official at the New Zealand Space Agency.
"As those who work in the space sector know, space is inherently challenging, and every attempt -- successful or not -- pushes the boundaries of what we know and what we're capable of."
The Environmental Defense Fund, which led the project, said it was "difficult news" but would not be the end of its methane-tracking efforts.
MethaneSAT was designed to measure emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, which fuels climate change by trapping heat in the planet's atmosphere.
It has proven notoriously difficult to get accurate estimates of the methane emissions generated by oil and gas projects around the globe.
MethaneSAT was launched into space in March 2024 on the back of a SpaceX rocket fired from California.
Controllers first lost contact with the satellite on June 20, the MethaneSAT team said in a statement. They confirmed it had lost all power on Monday this week and was "likely not recoverable".
