"SpaceX" launches an industrial moon that monitors methane emissions to identify the great pollution

A new methane monitoring tool is expected to be soon, as SpaceX plans to launch the “Tanagir -1” satellite today. This satellite is attached to the non -profit organization “Carbon Mapper”, which will make the data available once it is operated in the coming months. The “Tanagir-1” is the second satellite in the field of methane monitoring to be launched by a non-profit setting over the past six months, reflecting the increasing interest in strong hot gas and low satellite costs compared to the other used to monitor the atmosphere. Tanagir-1 was developed by Planet Labs PBC using NASA technology. The satellite can detect methane leak and carbon dioxide of individual facilities, where the moon, whose size will not exceed a small fridge, can determine the source of emissions with a 50 -meter resolution. “Carbon Mapr” focuses on monitoring “most important sources” of methane, such as oil and gas pits, large livestock farms, waste card and industrial refineries. This is the first step in the “Carbon Mapr” coalition plan, a partnership supported by charity bodies between the public and private sector, aimed at publishing a group of satellites to monitor up to 90% of the most important sources of emissions worldwide. (The coalition gained funding from the Bloomberg Charity Foundation of Michael Bloomberg, the founder and owner of the majority of the majority in Bloomberg LB, followed by Bloomberg News). Standard methane emissions The energy industry exports methane emissions near standard levels, despite promises to reduce them. From 20% to 60% of the methane emissions of US oil and gas ponds, of 1% of the high sources of emissions. The gas is about 80 times stronger over 20 years than carbon dioxide, and best control over the extreme sources of emissions can lead to great benefits for the climate. CEO of “Carbon Mapr”, Riley Doreen, indicated that public emissions could become a market mechanism. “If you have experimental evidence of methane leak of liquid natural gas, you can distinguish between consumers and producers of natural gas that adhere most in the area.” Companies that work in countries intend to get rid of pollutants in sectors with high emission can rely on satellite data to change supply chains. In May, the European Union approved a law that would impose sanctions on the import of liquid natural gas that exceeds a certain end of methane density from 2030. Additional laws to take effect of methane density in 2027 and 2028. Doreen adds that the general data of “Tanagir-1” can help with the recent US government efforts to increase the liability on the enormous emissions of methane. In June, the US Department of Energy and the American Environmental Protection Agency announced $ 850 million to finance the reduction of methane pollution as a result of oil and gas, and in July the environmental protection agency indicated that it intended to review methane standards. With the help of satellite data, government regulatory authorities, NGOs for environments, journalists and excessive emission companies will be able to identify the places where unexpected methane appears. In addition, people living near oil and gas fields will get better information on when methane leaks. Air surveys that monitor emissions, “carbon cards”, are currently air surveys to monitor emissions, which were used to notify the organizers of methane leaks. “In about 50% of cases, more than half of what we monitored were unknown to them. We want to expand this work worldwide,” says Doreen. While the air surveys provide very accurate measurements, satellites provide a global perspective that can detect emissions in external areas in which it is difficult to send aircraft and drones. The “Carbon Maprs” extension plan depends on an important satellite function that follows emissions, which is the effective cost. The satellites that can measure the different gases in the atmosphere cost more than $ 500 million per moon, and sometimes more than one billion dollars. It was developed and released by “NASA”, such as the carbon circular observatory, to help scientists answer specific research questions. “But if you start an industrial satellite to measure methane and carbon dioxide only, it’s much cheaper than a satellite that measures all kinds of gases,” says Daniel Jacob, a professor at Harvard University who specializes in atmospheric chemistry. The Environmental Defense Foundation has launched an industrial moon to find methane with the support of Google last March at a cost of $ 88 million. Tanagir-1, in addition to a second satellite, cost ‘Carbon Mapr’, $ 130 million. The satellites to detect methane have proven their value as useful tools, but many government agencies are reluctant to use to detect emissions and set regulations. “It still looks a little strange. For this reason, the environmental protection agency prefers to provide people with the help of hand appliances, which are annoying to measure emissions. But they understand it better,” Jacob says. Oil and gas businesses protested the large oil and gas companies – including “Petroleus Mexicanos” (Pimix), and the Kazakh business “Zachati Oil” – the satellite data that shows the pollution. In 2022, Pimix CEO, Octavio Romero Europe, posted a video of himself in a helicopter on an oil platform claiming that satellites wrongly showed a leakage of methane. But Jacob explains that “the big sources tend to be very interrupted.” Satellite monitoring provides the most important way to show when the biggest sources of emissions have short methane leaks, but environments are harmful. However, the “Tanagir -1” moon will not be able to provide continuous monitoring. It will run hundreds of kilometers above the surface in a low ground lane. The road means that it can take weeks or even months to return to the same place over the planet. During this time, methane leaks can be prevented, dealt with and remain without discovery. Jacob says that one of the best solutions to this problem is the use of satellites in earthly monitoring. These satellites remain constantly above the terrain itself at a height of 36 thousand kilometers above the earth’s surface. In March, scientists with a meteorological satellite -soring authority in a fixed geographical orbit to monitor methane with continuous and immediate coverage. The “Carbon Maprs” plan to expand its satellite program can provide another solution. Doreen says that the non -profit organization eventually wants to own more than ten satellites, which can reduce the time of return to less than a day.