When I was a little girl, I used to sneak out to the backyard late at night, when everyone in the house was asleep and all the lights were off. I loved the darkness, and because I had just gotten eyeglasses and could actually see some distance for the first time in my life—at age eight!—I was dazzled by the wash of moon and stars. I wanted to be an astronaut more than anything, and go into space.
Well, those days and dreams are long gone. But it is thrilling to think that the organization with which we launched Moms Clean Air Force—the Environmental Defense Fund—is sending a satellite into space for the good of all humankind.
MethaneSAT, the world’s most advanced methane-detecting satellite, is a go for launch at 1:40 PM PT / 4:40 PM ET. Learn more and watch the livestream here.
Methane is a climate disrupter of epic proportions. A serious villain—it packs a harder punch than carbon in the short term, even though it doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere. We know how to plug methane leaks. But you can’t fix what you can’t find.
MethaneSAT has unmatched accuracy and precision, leveraging advanced sensing technology to detect methane emissions across the globe. As The New Yorker said, it will be a “security camera for the planet.”
This satellite will go a long way toward solving the methane pollution problem. Data will lead to action.
That we’re sending that satellite up, sending it out there, sending it with the intention of solving an enormously consequential problem… Well, that makes me feel proud, teary, hopeful, and yes, a bit like a child, realizing a dream to head into space.
Watch the MethaneSAT launch here.
Learn about Moms’ work on methane here.
TELL THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: PLUG DANGEROUS PIPELINE LEAKS ASAP