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.
“Clearly, this is a disappointing development,“ said Andrew Johnson, a senior official at the New Zealand Space Agency.
The Environmental Defense Fund, which led the project, said it was “difficult news” but would not be the end of its methane-tracking efforts.
It has proven notoriously difficult to get accurate estimates of the methane emissions belched out by oil and gas projects around the globe.
- 'Remarkable' -
“Recent measurements in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico revealed emissions three to five times higher than estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, while emissions observed in the South Caspian region are over 10 times higher than reported,“ Hamburg wrote on LinkedIn.
Controllers first lost contact with the satellite on June 20, the MethaneSAT team said in a statement.
“The engineering team is conducting a thorough investigation into the loss of communication,“ MethaneSAT said.
Despite its shorter-than-expected lifespan, MethaneSAT hailed the mission as a “remarkable success in terms of scientific and technological accomplishment”.
It repeatedly entered a sleep, or stand-by, mode without prompting -- forcing engineers to perform a lengthy reset each time.
One of its three thrusters also failed.
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