Billionaire Jeff Bezos learned today that outer space is less controllable than the Italian city of Venice when a methane-tracking satellite he has backed was lost somewhere among the stars.
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Methane Emissions
The $88 million MethaneSAT was launched in March 2024 to measure methane emissions in oil and gas-producing regions of the world.
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the US nonprofit that operated the satellite, said that it had lost power and was “likely not recoverable.” Its last known location was over Norway.
The organization had developed and launched MethaneSAT with a $100 million grant awarded by the Bezos Earth Fund – a philanthropic initiative set up by the Amazon (AMZN) founder who was recently married, with much controversy, in the historic city of Venice.
It also used – the satellite, not the Bezos wedding – Google’s AI and infrastructure mapping technology. Google is owned by Alphabet (GOOGL).
Temperature Rises
To calculate the amount of methane emitted in specific places and track those emissions over time, EDF also developed algorithms powered by Google Cloud.
The satellite was launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Despite the loss, EDF said in a statement that the mission had produced a number of key findings about methane emissions.
“The mission has been a remarkable success in terms of scientific and technological accomplishment, and for its lasting influence on both industry and regulators worldwide,” it said.
Methane emissions are estimated to account for roughly one-third of human-induced temperature rises globally.
EDF has yet to rule out the possibility of another satellite launch to continue the work of MethaneSAT.
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