Nearly a year after the Environmental Defense Fund lost contact with an $88 million satellite, data from the spacecraft reveal higher-than-expected methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.By Martha Pskowski, Phil McKennaMethaneSAT, the world’s most advanced methane-detecting satellite and first spacecraft owned by an environmental nonprofit, promised to usher in a new era of climate accountability when the device entered Earth’s orbit in 2024.
Observations from the Little Bunker
Last updated: February 24, 2026 10:22 PM
Atmospheric CO₂
429.9 ppm
+17.3
ppm/year
Atmospheric CH₄
1946.47 ppb
+6.49
ppb/year
Global Temperature
+1.48 °C
Peak: +1.73°C
World Population
8.1 billion
+67
million/year