Carbon Mapper Releases First Emissions Detections from the Tanager-1 Satellite

Tanager-1 is made possible by the Carbon Mapper Coalition, a philanthropically-funded effort to develop and deploy satellites designed to detect and track methane and CO2 super-emitters at a level of granularity needed to support direct mitigation action. Tanager-1 combines Planet’s cutting-edge agile aerospace and smallsat bus technology with the state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer design developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

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PUBLISHED ARTICLE FROM CARBON MAPPER

Pasadena, Calif., Oct. 10, 2024 — Today, Carbon Mapper released the first methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) detections by the Tanager-1 satellite. This is the culmination of years of effort from a public-private partnership, funded by philanthropy, to make emissions data available globally and actionable on a local scale. These observations are a preview of what’s to come as Carbon Mapper will leverage Tanager-1 to scale-up emissions observations at unprecedented sensitivity across large areas. Data at this level of granularity can empower enhanced transparency and guide mitigation actions that benefit our climate.

This milestone was achieved quickly, in just over one month since Tanager-1 launched on August 16. This is the first of a series of satellites being developed through a unique coalition which is led by Carbon Mapper in partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Planet Labs PBC. Other coalition members include RMI and Arizona State University alongside philanthropic supporters including High Tide Foundation, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and Zegar Family Foundation among others.

Building on aerial surveys conducted since 2016, Carbon Mapper researchers have been refining the algorithms and processes necessary to pinpoint and quantify super-emitting sources of methane and CO2 quickly. Through these regional pilot surveys, Carbon Mapper found that nearly half of super-emitting events (sources that emit > 100 kg CH4/h) flagged for state agencies and operators were previously unknown, and once identified were able to be mitigated. These efforts laid the groundwork for Carbon Mapper’s work with partners to translate this granular data into concrete mitigation action.

“Detecting and quantifying methane and carbon dioxide detections so quickly with Tanager-1 is a testament to the unique partnership we established. I’m so proud of this outcome after all the hard work by our coalition,” said Carbon Mapper CEO Riley Duren. “This milestone is made possible by the support of our donors who have invested in the satellite technology, science, data platform, engagement program — and most importantly, the team. These first detections are just the beginning; we are on track to routinely publish high-quality emissions data from Tanager-1 in the near future.”

“To meet ambitious climate goals, it is important for philanthropy to lead carefully and follow fast. This is exactly what we have done with our investment in the Carbon Mapper coalition. We were methodical in how we built an emissions monitoring program to drive transparency and actionable emissions insights, and we have delivered,” said Richard Lawrence, Founder and Executive Chairman of High Tide Foundation. “Now is the time to quickly scale up investments to get this data into the right hands so we can accelerate global actions to cut methane and CO2.”

To make this data accessible and actionable, Carbon Mapper makes all of its methane and CO2 detections publicly available for noncommercial use on its data portal, a web platform that is updated on an ongoing basis with observations and emissions data from remote sensing sources.

“Reducing methane pollution starts with measuring it,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Data from the Tanager-1 satellite is providing us with the real-time data necessary to pinpoint methane leaks at their source and clean them up. This new technology is crucial to curbing emissions from one of the biggest contributors to climate change.”

Emissions data from Carbon Mapper alongside data from other monitoring programs will be critical to helping governments deliver on the Global Methane Pledge, an unprecedented agreement led by the United States and the European Union to reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030. It can also be transformative across major emitting sectors such as energy, waste and agriculture, empowering companies to identify and verify emissions reductions across their supply chains and deliver on stated commitments such as the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter.

Tanager-1 is currently undergoing commissioning by Planet and Carbon Mapper, which includes performing calibration and validation of key systems and data platforms, in addition to other routine spacecraft maneuvering. Once commissioning is completed in the coming months, Carbon Mapper will continue to scale up its observations and make methane and CO2 data routinely accessible to help decision makers fill gaps in their understanding of the exact sources of emissions and empower mitigation action at the source.