2 Jul 2025

NZ-funded methane satellite goes missing

From Nine To Noon, 9:45 am on 2 July 2025
Artist’s rendering of MethaneSAT, the satellite EDF developed.

Artist’s rendering of MethaneSAT, the satellite EDF developed. Photo: Supplied / Environmental Defence Fund

A New Zealand taxpayer-funded climate satellite has lost contact with the ground.

The US non-profit behind the MethaneSAT mission has released a statement saying the satellite "is likely not recoverable."

MethaneSAT got $29 million from the New Zealand government, with the aim of growing the space industry.

The mission's goal was to name and shame oil and gas producers that are allowing planet-heating methane to escape into the atmosphere.

RNZ's Climate Change Correspondent Eloise Gibson has been following the story.