An $88 million (€77.4 million) satellite backed by Jeff Bezos has disappeared in space while conducting a climate change mission, New Zealand officials said on Wednesday.

MethaneSAT, which was designed to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions with "unprecedented resolution," was also funded by Wellington and the US-based Environmental Defense Fund. 

However, the satellite was plagued with technical problems and recently stopped responding to its Earth-bound controllers.

"Clearly, this is a disappointing development," said Andrew Johnson, a senior official at the New Zealand Space Agency.

"As those who work in the space sector know, space is inherently challenging, and every attempt, successful or not, pushes the boundaries of what we know and what we're capable of."

Project not in vain, EDF argues

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which was in charge of the project, said it was "difficult news" but would not relent in its efforts to track methane.

"We're seeing this as a setback, not a failure," Amy Middleton, senior vice president at the EDF, told the Reuters news agency. "We've made so much progress and so much has been learned that if we hadn't taken this risk, we wouldn't have any of these learnings."

The launch of MethaneSAT in March of last year was a milestone in a years-long campaign to hold some 120 countries accountable to their 2021 pledge to curb methane emissions.

It also sought to help enforce a further pledge from 50 oil and gas firms made at the Dubai COP28 climate summit in December 2023 to eliminate methane and routine gas flaring.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.

Scientists say capping leaks from oil and gas wells and equipment is, therefore, one of the fastest ways to start tackling global warming.

The EDF had received a $100 million funding boost from the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 and received other financial support from Arnold Ventures, the Robertson Foundation and the TED Audacious Project and EDF donors. The mission was also carried out in partnership with the New Zealand Space Agency.

Edited by: Zac Crellin