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.