| 1 | Landsat 4 & 5 | past | Point source | 30 m | 185 km | 0.45–2.35 µm | ~100 nm (6 bands) | 16 days | ~80–100 | TM (Thematic Mapper) | Band 5 (1.55–1.75 µm), Band 7 (2.08–2.35 µm); indirect sensitivity only | link → |
| 2 | Landsat 7 | past | Point source | 30 m | 185 km | 0.45–2.35 µm | ~100 nm (6 VNIR/SWIR bands) | 16 days | ~100 | ETM+ | Band 5 (1.55–1.75 µm), Band 7 (2.09–2.35 µm) | link → |
| 3 | Sentinel-2 | present | Point source | 20 m (SWIR) | 290 km | 0.44–2.20 µm | ~20–90 nm (13 bands) | 5 days (2 sats) | ~100–200 | MSI (MultiSpectral Instrument) | B11 1.61 µm, B12 2.19 µm; broadband, ~plumes >500 t/h | link → |
| 4 | GHGSat | present | Point source | ~25 m | 12×12 km (tasked) | 1.63–1.67 µm | ~0.1 nm (Fabry-Pérot) | Tasked (daily possible) | ~300–500 | WAF-P imaging spectrometer | 1.65 µm SWIR absorption; sensitivity ~10 t/h | link → |
| 5 | Landsat 8 & 9 | present | Point source | 30 m | 185 km | 0.43–2.29 µm | ~100 nm (9 bands) | 16 days (8-day combined) | ~200–300 | OLI (Operational Land Imager) | B6 1.57–1.65 µm, B7 2.11–2.29 µm; broadband | link → |
| 6 | Carbon Mapper | present | Point source | ~30 m | ~95 km | 380–2,500 nm | ~7.5 nm (VNIR) / ~10 nm (SWIR) | Daily (constellation target) | ~400 (SWIR) | AVIRIS-NG heritage imaging spectrometer (Tanager-1) | 1.66 µm; MDL ~100–200 kg/h per point source | link → |
| 7 | GaoFen-5 / GF-5B | present | Point source | 30 m | 60 km | 400–2,500 nm | ~5 nm | ~5 days | ~150 | AHSI hyperspectral imager | 1.66 µm band; point-source detection capability | gaofen5 |
| 8 | ZiYuan-1 (ZY-1 02D) | present | Point source | 30 m | 60 km | 400–2,500 nm | ~10 nm (166 bands) | ~26 days | ~100 | AHSI hyperspectral | SWIR bands ~1.6–2.4 µm | ziyuan1 |
| 9 | EnMAP | present | Point source | 30 m | 30 km | 420–2,450 nm | ~6.5 nm (228 bands) | ~4 days (tasked) / 27 days sys. | ~100–400 | Pushbroom hyperspectral (VNIR + SWIR) | 1.66 µm; ~100–200 kg/h detection limit | link → |
| 10 | PRISMA | present | Point source | 30 m | 30 km | 400–2,500 nm | ~10 nm (239 bands) | Tasked (~29-day systematic) | ~150–300 | Pushbroom hyperspectral (HYC + PAN) | 1.66 µm SWIR; ~200–500 kg/h detection | prisma |
| 11 | EMIT | present | Point source | 60 m | 72 km | 380–2,510 nm | ~7.4 nm (285 bands) | ~monthly (ISS orbit) | ~300–600 (SWIR) | Imaging spectrometer (Dyson design) on ISS | 1.66 µm; MDL ~100–500 kg/h; global survey | link → |
| 12 | VIIRS | present | Point source | 375 m (I) / 750 m (M) | 3,000 km | 0.41–12.0 µm | Multispectral (22 bands) | ~Daily (NOAA-20 + Suomi-NPP) | ~200 (SWIR) | Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite | M10 1.61 µm, M11 2.25 µm; super-emitter / large flares | link → |
| 13 | Sentinel-3 | present | Point source | 300 m (SLSTR+OLCI) | 1,270 km (SLSTR) | 0.4–12.0 µm | Multispectral | ~Daily (2 sats) | ~100 | SLSTR + OLCI | SWIR 1.6 µm band (F2); large plume sensitivity only | link → |
| 14 | GOES-16/17/18 | present | Point source | 2 km (SWIR) | Full disk (geostationary) | 0.47–13.3 µm | Multispectral (16 bands) | 5–15 min | ~100 | ABI (Advanced Baseline Imager) | Band 5 1.61 µm; flare/fire monitoring; ~MW sources | goes_abi |
| 15 | MTG (Meteosat-I) | future | Point source | 0.5–2 km (geostationary) | Full disk | 0.3–13.3 µm (FCI) | Multispectral + IRS sounder | 10 min (FCI full disk) | TBD | FCI + LI + IRS (on MTG-S) | IRS 8.0–9.6 µm thermal; area flux focus | link → |
| 16 | TANGO | future | Point source | ~50 m (target) | ~50 km (target) | ~1.60–1.70 µm | ~0.5 nm | Daily (4-sat constellation) | ~300 (target) | Compact SWIR grating spectrometer (microsatellite) | 1.65 µm; point-source MDL ~100 kg/h | tango |
| 17 | CO2Image | future | Point source | ~4 km | ~200 km | 1.60–1.68 µm + 2.0 µm | ~0.1 nm | ~Daily (planned constellation) | TBD | Compact grating spectrometer | 1.65 µm; area flux and point-source blended | co2image |
| 18 | SBG | future | Point source | ~30 m | ~145 km | 380–2,500 nm | ~10 nm (420+ bands) | ~16 days (systematic) | ~300–500 | Wide-swath hyperspectral (VNIR + SWIR) | 1.66 µm; successor to EMIT heritage | link → |
| 19 | CHIME | future | Point source | ~20 m | ~45 km | 400–2,500 nm | ~10 nm | ~5 days (2 sats) | ~300 | Pushbroom hyperspectral (ESA Copernicus) | 1.66 µm SWIR band | chime |
| 20 | SCIAMACHY | past | Area flux | 30×60 km (nadir) | 960 km | 240–2,380 nm | ~0.24–1.5 nm | 6 days | ~500–1000 | SCIAMACHY on Envisat (2002–2012) | 1.66 µm; column XCH₄; ~20 ppb precision | sciamachy |
| 21 | MethaneSAT | present | Area flux | ~1 km | ~200 km | 1,590–1,690 nm + O₂ | ~0.1 nm | ~Daily (key O&G basins) | ~200–400 | Grating spectrometer (EDF / Harvard CfA) | 1.65 µm; XCH₄ precision ~2 ppb; MDL ~100 kg/h area | link → |
| 22 | GOSAT / IBUKI | present | Area flux | 10.5 km footprint | Sparse (158 km spacing) | 0.76, 1.6, 2.0 µm + TIR | ~0.04–0.2 nm (FTS) | 3 days | ~200–300 | TANSO-FTS (Fourier Transform Spectrometer) | 1.65 µm; XCH₄ precision ~8–10 ppb; column retrieval | gosat |
| 23 | Sentinel-5P / TROPOMI | present | Area flux | 5.5×3.5 km | 2,600 km | 270–2,385 nm | ~0.25 nm (SWIR) | Daily global | ~100–1000 | TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) | 2.3 µm SWIR; XCH₄ precision ~0.6%; MDL ~1,000 kg/h | link → |
| 24 | GOSAT-GW / IBUKI-3 | future | Area flux | ~3 km | ~50 km + wide scan | 0.76, 1.6, 2.0 µm + TIR | ~0.04 nm (FTS) | ~3 days | ~300 | TANSO-FTS-2 + CAI-2 (launched Dec 2023) | 1.65 µm; improved XCH₄ precision ~5 ppb | link → |
| 25 | Sentinel-5 (MetOp-SG) | future | Area flux | ~5.5×3.5 km | 2,600 km | 270–2,385 nm | ~0.25 nm (SWIR) | Daily global | ~200 | UVNS on MetOp-SG | 2.3 µm SWIR; successor to TROPOMI; improved radiometry | link → |
| 26 | CO2M | future | Area flux | ~2 km | ~250 km | 1.61 µm + 2.0 µm + O₂ | ~0.1 nm | ~5–7 days (3 sats) | ~300 | Grating spectrometer (ESA Copernicus CO₂M) | 1.61 µm XCH₄; co-retrieved with XCO₂ | co2m |
| 27 | MERLIN | future | Area flux | ~150 m (laser footprint) | N/A (lidar profiling) | 1,645 nm (IPDA lidar) | ~0.01 nm (single wavelength pair) | ~28 days (global) | N/A (photon counting) | IPDA lidar (French-German mission) | 1645 nm DIAL; column XCH₄; ~6 ppb precision target | merlin |