GHGSat operates a constellation of 12 satellites that measure and quantify point source greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic and naturogenic sources around the world. GHGSat’s high-resolution satellite methane data is available for scientific research and non-commercial applications development through the Third-Party Missions (TPM) program of the European Space Agency and will soon also be available through the NASA Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) program. While methane is non-toxic the volatile organic compounds typically co-released with it are precursors to ground level ozone and smog. When inhaled, ozone smog can impair lung function, trigger asthma attacks, and aggravate diseases such as bronchitis and emphysema which causes roughly 500,000 premature deaths each year around the world. Methane is a major driver of climate change, resulting in hotter weather and stagnant air that make ozone smog levels worse. The public health impacts of methane emissions and climate change are directly correlated with issues of social equity. For example, over the last 18 months GHGSat’s satellites correlated more than 300 methane emissions with socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in the United States that were identified with the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.
Connecting NASA Data and Tools with Health and Air Quality Stakeholders