Carbon Mapper Unveils Plan for Next-Generation Methane Detection Technology to Cut Climate's Strongest Pollutant

Nonprofit and partners announce plan to develop additional capacity to help pinpoint the majority of global methane emissions from oil and gas, coal, waste, and agriculture.

PASADENA, Calif., April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the nonprofit Carbon Mapper announced plans to develop and deploy new technology in its remote-sensing constellation, growing the organization's ability to monitor and mitigate methane and other pollutants to address climate change and benefit human health.

As part of its longstanding strategy to scale a multi-tiered emission-observing system, Carbon Mapper has led the development of an Advanced Emissions Monitoring Imaging Spectrometer (AEMIS) with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which Carbon Mapper will soon deploy on aircraft. Planet will integrate this same technology on a specialized Tanager satellite optimized to detect a wider range of atmospheric gases.

This AEMIS technology will uniquely:

• Expand pinpoint detection of methane super-emitters: Thanks to improvements in spectrometer design and optimization for infrared wavelengths (where methane absorbs solar radiation), this technology will dramatically increase the fraction of methane point sources that can be detected, attributed, and quantified.
• Increase visibility of methane emissions across multiple scales: Allowing society to quantify sources that have historically been more difficult to measure using satellites, such as diffuse area emissions in the agriculture, waste, oil and gas, and coal sectors. When deployed on aircraft, AEMIS technology will improve quantification of many of these sources while expanding granular facility-scale measurements that are critical for making data attributable and actionable.  
• Improve sampling frequency: Increasing the revisit rate of super-emitting sites to give more insights into variable emissions.
• Provide data on other atmospheric pollutants: Detecting and measuring other gases that have a significant impact on climate change, local air quality, and health.

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that has accounted for about 30% of global warming to date. Rapid and sustained reductions in methane emissions are key to limiting near-term warming and improving air quality.

"As climate impacts such as the increasing intensity of fire and extreme weather continue to grow, there is global urgency to pull the emergency brake on methane — a climate-warming super-pollutant — within this decade," said Carbon Mapper CEO Riley Duren. "In response, Carbon Mapper is delivering on our long-standing plans to expand the remote sensing constellation that allows us to accelerate our public-good mission to fill gaps in the growing ecosystem of emissions data, and drive emission reductions by translating data to action."

The Carbon Mapper coalition formalized an unprecedented philanthropically-backed partnership that combines Carbon Mapper's science and impact expertise with JPL's cutting-edge remote sensing technology and Planet's agile aerospace approach. That partnership resulted in the launch of the Tanager-1 satellite in August 2024.

Since then, Carbon Mapper has leveraged Tanager-1 observations to provide accessible, actionable data on the precise locations of over eleven thousand global super-emitters, while also working with decision-makers to empower mitigation. As previously announced, Planet plans to build and deploy at least three additional broad-spectrum Tanagers, as well as at least one new specialized Tanager, which will be optimized for short-wave infrared (SWIR). This is thanks to Planet's proven ability to scale efficiently by leveraging its established supply chain and rapid production line.

By integrating innovative imaging spectrometer technology into both aircraft and the newly designed Tanager satellite, Carbon Mapper and its partners will build on this foundation, helping expand its tiered observing system and enabling it to deliver actionable data more frequently.

"Reducing methane pollution requires knowing exactly where it's coming from," said Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies. "Carbon Mapper's expanded capabilities allow major emissions sources to be found and fixed faster and more effectively. It's a great example of how data can drive action and accelerate progress."

Specific technological innovations and anticipated uses are as follows:

Carbon Mapper's AEMIS Aircraft Deployment — Carbon Mapper will use AEMIS to detect, quantify, and track methane emissions from the agricultural sector. Thanks to its larger imaging sensor and innovative optical design optimized for trace gas detection, the new system will deliver dramatically improved sensitivity. Additionally, given the aircraft's lower altitude, the new system will be able to quickly map selected regions at resolutions ranging from one to five meters.

The new aircraft instrument is designed to map methane emissions as small as 5 kgCH₄/hr point sources at scales ranging from individual pieces of equipment to more diffuse area emissions from regions with intensive livestock operations, as well as major oil, gas, and coal production basins.

AEMIS will also enable high-resolution monitoring of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ethane, and ammonia, enabling better apportionment of methane emissions to specific sectors and practices and offering hyper-local insights into pollutants of concern for climate, air quality, and health. These gases, along with methane, affect the climate and can harm air quality and human health in nearby communities. Greater insight into the origins and magnitude of these pollutants can directly inform actions to reduce them.

The new aircraft is slated to begin operations in late 2027 with an initial focus on improving understanding of livestock methane emissions in the US and seasonal surveys of US oil- and gas-producing regions to better constrain methane loss rates from those operations.

"Our group at Caltech has spent the past few years working with Carbon Mapper on the science and technology case for pushing to finer spatial scales, and finding the sweet spot for accurate trace gas detection and quantification," said Caltech Professor Christian Frankenberg. "Seeing that effort translate into a next-generation aircraft system — and a pathway for future satellite capabilities — is genuinely exciting."

Planet's Specialized Tanager Satellite — To bolster and supplement aerial imagery, Planet plans to integrate the AEMIS instrument technology into a new iteration of its Tanager satellite, effectively 'zooming in' on the spectral bands that most effectively monitor methane and carbon. By targeting only the shortwave infrared (SWIR) portion of the spectrum, this specialized version of the sensor will provide five times the area coverage of Tanager-1. The SWIR-only Tanager will be designed to support 30-meter resolution, doubling the sensitivity to methane super-emitters. Taken together, both versions of Tanager satellites will provide key insights across a range of commercial, civil, and federal government applications, including agriculture, disaster mitigation, resource management, and more.

The partnership intends to launch the initial SWIR Tanager as early as 2028.

"Planet is proud to build upon our long-standing partnership with Carbon Mapper and JPL, which has already demonstrated its immense impact through the successful deployment of Tanager-1 in identifying tens of thousands of methane and carbon leaks," said James Mason, Planet Chief Space Officer. "Through our growing missions-as-a-service business, we are uniquely positioned to help strategic partners by leveraging our approach to agile space missions to scale next-generation technology like the newly designed Tanager. We look forward to the continued expansion of the Tanager constellation and supporting Carbon Mapper's mission."

As Carbon Mapper prepares to deploy these new capabilities, the organization continues efforts to work with global partners to accelerate methane mitigation. This includes collaborations with industry, governments, and civil society partners to translate that data into action — working across major emitting sectors, informing policy, delivering new insights on methane sources and trends, underpinning data-to-action tools, and empowering communities. 

"For the first time, we have the capability to independently verify methane and ammonia emissions from intensive livestock at facility scale, closing the largest remaining gap in agricultural climate accountability and directly connecting emissions reductions to the health of nearby communities," said Marcelo Mena, CEO of the Global Methane Hub.

About Carbon Mapper
Carbon Mapper is a science-based nonprofit in Pasadena, CA, with the mission to drive greenhouse gas emissions reductions by making methane and carbon dioxide data accessible and actionable. The organization is recognized for its collaborations with stakeholders to translate data into action, lead cutting-edge science and research, and advance global education and insights on emissions. Carbon Mapper leverages remote sensing technology to fill gaps in the emerging ecosystem of emissions-monitoring systems and deliver precise, timely facility-scale data to empower decision-makers and drive mitigation action. The organization and its partners continue to develop and deploy a constellation of satellites that enable Carbon Mapper to quantify and verify methane emissions, make this data publicly accessible, and build capacity to act on it to lower emissions worldwide. Learn more at carbonmapper.org and view data at data.carbonmapper.org. 

SOURCE Carbon Mapper Inc.