Catalyst: Strategic – MethaneSAT Atmospheric Science Programme

Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas so reducing methane emissions is 1 of the fastest ways to slow climate change. The MethaneSAT mission was designed to detect methane emissions globally, and in New Zealand, to develop world-leading methods for measuring methane emissions from space. New Zealand leads the development of applications to agricultural emissions in the MethaneSAT mission.

In June 2025, contact with the MethaneSAT satellite was permanently lost. While this was a setback for methane emission studies, this science programme remains on track to deliver its core objectives and benefits for New Zealand.

We have successfully collected valuable MethaneSAT data over key agricultural regions in New Zealand and internationally. Combined with data from our 2 major field campaigns, aircraft-based MethaneAIR measurements, and the European TROPOMI satellite, we can still achieve the scientific goals, including:

• Developing advanced modelling tools to estimate agricultural methane emissions from satellite observations.
• Benchmarking alternative satellite data sources to ensure continuity of methane monitoring for New Zealand.
• Delivering high-resolution emissions maps in regions of New Zealand and supporting climate strategy with emissions profiles.
• Building capability for future missions, ensuring New Zealand is ready to leverage data from next-generation greenhouse gas satellites.

The project continues to strengthen New Zealand’s leadership in agricultural greenhouse gas research and remote sensing. Our work will inform national emissions inventories, support policy development, and position Aotearoa to verify emissions reductions during the transition to a low-emissions economy. Internationally, we are contributing to global efforts to reduce methane emissions by analysing data from over 200 agricultural sites in the United States.

The knowledge, tools, and partnerships developed through this project will deliver lasting benefits for New Zealand and the global climate.

Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, so there are significant and immediate climate benefits to reducing methane emissions. The Aotearoa-NZ government has partnered with Environmental Defense Fund, MethaneSAT LLC and Harvard University to support the MethaneSAT satellite mission, Aotearoa-NZ’s first official space mission.

The primary goal of the satellite is to detect methane that is accidentally leaked into the atmosphere from the oil and gas industry. But here in Aotearoa-NZ, most emitted methane is from agriculture. These sorts of emissions, here and globally, tend to be spread over a large area, and so are harder to measure. We will develop methods to detect agricultural methane emissions from MethaneSAT data, enabling us to provide high-resolution maps of methane emissions (including the size of emissions and how they vary over time) in regions of Aotearoa-NZ. These methods will enable Aotearoa-NZ to verify emission reductions during our transition to zero carbon using MethaneSAT and future generations of greenhouse gas sensing satellites. Also, this programme will directly support Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu’s climate change strategy by developing a greenhouse gas profile for their tribal lands.

Through the MethaneSAT mission, we will develop world-class capability in satellite measurements and modelling tools, which will position Aotearoa-NZ to undertake future space missions.

Looking beyond our shores, we will identify high-priority agricultural regions for the satellite to target around the world, collecting agricultural methane emission data when and where it can best support emission reduction actions.