MethaneSat failed just as NZ was to take over mission control – here’s what we need to know now
- Written by Nicholas Rattenbury, Associate Professor in Physics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

This week’s announcement of the loss of a methane-detecting satellite, just days before New Zealand was meant to take over mission control, is a blow to the country’s space research sector.
New Zealand invested NZ$29 million in the MethaneSat mission, built and operated by the US nonprofit...