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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Veronika Meduna in Wellington

MethaneSat down: how New Zealand space ambitions fell off the radar

New Zealand Andrew Johnson United States EDF Rocket Lab
MethaneSat launch viewing party at Rocketlab in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2024.
MethaneSat launch viewing party at Rocket Lab in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2024. After 15 months in orbit, officials lost contact with the methane-tracking satellite in June 2025. Photograph: Stuart Mackay/NIWA

For scientist Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, the news that a methane-tracking satellite was lost in space last week left her feeling like the air had been sucked from her lungs.

It happened just days before New Zealand was due to take control of the spacecraft, known as MethaneSat, which was designed to “name and shame” the worst methane polluters in the oil and gas industry.

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