The MethaneSAT satellite, developed by the Environmental Defense Fund in partnership with Google, has launched onboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the aim of putting the biggest methane-emitting culprits on the map.

Methane leaks cause plumes of potent greenhouse gas to escape into our atmosphere, sometimes for days on end. Slashing it, therefore, is imperative to limit global warming.

While methane has 80 times the warming power of CO2 in the first 20 years after reaching the atmosphere, unlike CO2 it does not remain in our atmosphere for as long. This means that reducing methane emissions will have a significant impact in lowering global temperatures.

Tracking methane leaks will help identify the sources of these emissions, produced from oil and gas, landfill, agriculture and other sources.

Earlier this year, the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund, in partnership with Google, announced it was launching a project called MethaneSAT that would use satellite imagery to quantify total...