California commits $95 million to purchase of satellite methane data

SAN FRANCISCO – California plans to spend $95 million to monitor methane emissions via satellite and $5 million to help communities apply the data to stem pollution.California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the three-year, $95 million contract awarded by the California Air Resources Board to nonprofit Carbon Mapper to process and disseminate data gathered by Planet Tanager hyperspectral-imaging satellites. The first Tanager satellite, owned and operated by Planet, launched in August on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Planet has confirmed plans to launch at least three additional satellites. The recent contract includes spatial-coverage requirements, but it will be up to Planet to determine how many Tanager satellites it needs to satisfy them.Carbon Mapper’s methane-monitoring campaign “will help us better identify sources of pollution” and provide “information that is much closer to real time than the data now available,” California Air Resources Board chair Liane Randolph told SpaceNews by email. “It allows us to directly address one of the major contributors to what has become an immediate threat to public health and the environment. It also provides an opportunity for California to work with other jurisdictions which want to develop their own, similar satellite methane monitoring and reduction programs.”California has announced a goal of reducing methane emissions 40 percent compared with 2013 levels. Buying data from Carbon Mapper through the recently announced Satellite Data Purchase Program is an element of that campaign.Planet launched the Tanager-1 satellite for the Carbon Mapper Coalition in August 2024. Credit: Planet1,000 Plumes DetectedCarbon Mapper began publishing global methane observations through an online portal in October. Within days, a report to Texas regulators of leaks from a Permian Basin pipeline prompted the pipeline operator to fix the problem.“It’s a privilege being selected to support California’s methane reduction goals, and an exciting milestone with long-term benefits for communities across the state,” Carbon Mapper CEO Riley Duren said in a statement. “Through this program, the State of California is leading the way in leveraging satellite remote-sensing technology to provide critical methane observations and data that can drive effective mitigation actions. We applaud the state for its continued commitment to climate leadership.”Tanager’s hyperspectral sensors, developed at JPL, are designed to map emissions targets with 30-meter resolution. Each satellite observes an area of about 130,000 square kilometers per day.“Our partner, Carbon Mapper, has published over 1,000 methane and CO2 plume detections based on insights gleaned from the data,” Will Marshall, Planet co-founder and CEO, said March 21 during an earnings call. “And we’re actively preparing to offer commercial data to the broader market, particularly to the energy and civil government verticals, within the next few months.” Newsom announced the Carbon Mapper contract March 21, as he became co-chair of America is All In, a coalition of U.S. states, cities, businesses and other organizations working to slash greenhouse gas emissions.Correction: An earlier version of this article mentioned the Carbon Mapper consortium, a public-private partnership that included NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Arizona and the California Air Resources Board. The Carbon Mapper consortium provided support for the first Tanager satellite but is not receiving funding under the new contract.