Tanager-1 hyperspectral satellite built with Carbon Mapper launches

Planet Labs/Pelican

Planet launched Tanager-1 on August 16, 2024, on a SpaceX rideshare from Vandenberg Space Force Base with 36 SuperDoves. Built with an imaging spectrometer designed at NASA JPL and part of the philanthropically-funded Carbon Mapper Coalition, Tanager-1 detects and measures methane and CO2 emissions at individual-facility precision. It captures over 400 spectral bands invisible to the human eye.

• Launch: August 16, 2024, Vandenberg Space Force Base on Falcon 9 (Transporter-11 rideshare).
• Spectrometer: developed at NASA JPL; Planet-built and operated.
• Capability: detect and measure methane and CO2 super-emitters at facility level.
• Spectral data: 400+ bands (vs. fewer bands in optical imagery); invisible phenomena now observable.
• Carbon Mapper Coalition: philanthropically funded effort to track greenhouse-gas super-emitters.