Background
Satellite missions led by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and commercial entities such as MethaneSAT, Greenhouse Gas Satellite (GHGSat), and Carbon Mapper will be an important data source for greenhouse gases in the coming years. However, it is not clear whether these datasets will meet the data quality, temporal frequency, and spatial characteristics requirements for regulatory applications.
Status: Available Now
The Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program evaluated GHGSat data and has awarded a competitive task order for emissions data in March 2025 per recommendations from the Satellite Needs Working Group (SNWG). Under this order, NASA purchases GHGSat methane emission data at 48-hour latency at the United States government End User License Agreement (EULA). The contract is for two years, and agencies are able to access the data via the Satellite Data Explorer.
Characteristics
| Platforms | Geographic Domain |
|---|---|
| GHGSat | Global |
Societal Impact
GHGSat data provides agencies with high-resolution routine monitoring of methane emissions, to both improve models and long-term monitoring and to respond to anomalous emissions.
Resources
For more information about accessing and using commercial data, visit the following resources: