Headwall’s Hyperspectral Imaging Sensors Onboard MethaneAIR Paved the Way for MethaneSAT
Meet MethaneAIR from Environmental Defense Fund on Vimeo.
With the recent launch of MethaneSAT by BAE Systems, researchers will be able to see and quantify methane emissions over wide areas across the planet and identify large emitters in places that might not have been previously identified. According to the MethaneSAT project team, this new data will enable both companies and regulators to track emissions, and give stakeholders – citizens, governments, investors, and gas importers – free, near-real time access to the data, and the unprecedented ability to compare the results against emission goals and obligations.
Headwall designed and delivered two high-resolution imaging spectrometers under the MethaneAIR project for the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA). The project extends Headwall’s work in the field of gas detection, which also includes solutions for NEC Space‘s HISUI (Hyperspectral Imager Suite) for the International Space Station, JAXA’s GOBLEU systems deployed on commercial aircraft, and GHGSat‘s CLAIRE-D satellite for remote-sensing of greenhouse-gas and AQG air-quality gas emissions.
MethaneAIR data were used to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the MethaneSAT program, funded by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The CfA is a Headwall partner in developing data solutions for this critical application area.
