MethaneSAT, a new satellite that will find and measure methane emissions with unparalleled precision – including emissions that other satellites simply can’t see – successfully launched from Vanderberg Space Force Base on March 4, 2024, with the aid of SpaceX. MethaneSAT is funded by Climate and Clean Energy grantee Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Heising-Simons Foundation Board member Mark Heising serves as Chair of the Board of EDF and sits on the steering committee of MethaneSAT.

Read a Q&A about MethaneSAT with Mark Heising on our blog.

“Today’s successful launch is a major milestone in the fight against climate change. Never before have we been able to measure methane emissions, in real time and across the globe, and with pinpoint accuracy identify the source of those emissions,” said Climate and Clean Energy Program Officer Matt Oberhoffner. “Being able to make the full scope of these emissions visible will enable countries and companies to address this pollution and significantly slow planetary warming over the next few years, and because the data is available to all, will allow for advocates to hold them accountable. The teams at EDF and MethaneSAT have done something truly remarkable.”

The Foundation’s President and CEO Sushma Raman attended the launch, along with Board Members Mark Heising and Liz Simons, and Climate and Clean Energy Program Officer Matt Oberhoffner.

“I’d like to congratulate the Environmental Defense Fund and their partners for this remarkable achievement that has the potential to impact climate change in the near term through tracking the location and volume of methane emissions with scale and precision, as well as identifying governments and corporations that must provide remedies.” – Sushma Raman, President and CEO of Heising-Simons Foundation