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plumax — observation side

MARS Satellite Constellation — Technical Characteristics

UNEP
IMEO
MARS

The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) integrates data from over 35 satellites, split into two functional categories.

Detection categories
  • Point Source Imagers (PSI) — high spatial resolution (20–60 m), tasked or systematic imaging, sensitivity to individual facility plumes (~100–1{,}000 kg/h detection floor).
  • Area Flux Mappers (AFM) — wide-swath column retrievals of XCH₄ (in ppb), enabling regional and national budget attribution.

The full 27-row catalog is loaded from a sibling file (satellites_table.html) per the mystmd guide on including tables from file.

Table S1:MARS satellite constellation — past, present, and future missions tasked for methane retrieval, with spatial / spectral / SNR characteristics and per-row references into methane.bib.

All 27 Point source Area flux
All eras Past Present Future
Search satellites… 27 satellites
#SatelliteEraTypeSpatial res.SwathSpectral rangeSpectral res.RevisitSNR (CH₄)InstrumentCH₄ band / methodRef
1Landsat 4 & 5pastPoint source30 m185 km0.45–2.35 µm~100 nm (6 bands)16 days~80–100TM (Thematic Mapper)Band 5 (1.55–1.75 µm), Band 7 (2.08–2.35 µm); indirect sensitivity onlylink →
2Landsat 7pastPoint source30 m185 km0.45–2.35 µm~100 nm (6 VNIR/SWIR bands)16 days~100ETM+Band 5 (1.55–1.75 µm), Band 7 (2.09–2.35 µm)link →
3Sentinel-2presentPoint source20 m (SWIR)290 km0.44–2.20 µm~20–90 nm (13 bands)5 days (2 sats)~100–200MSI (MultiSpectral Instrument)B11 1.61 µm, B12 2.19 µm; broadband, ~plumes >500 t/hlink →
4GHGSatpresentPoint source~25 m12×12 km (tasked)1.63–1.67 µm~0.1 nm (Fabry-Pérot)Tasked (daily possible)~300–500WAF-P imaging spectrometer1.65 µm SWIR absorption; sensitivity ~10 t/hlink →
5Landsat 8 & 9presentPoint source30 m185 km0.43–2.29 µm~100 nm (9 bands)16 days (8-day combined)~200–300OLI (Operational Land Imager)B6 1.57–1.65 µm, B7 2.11–2.29 µm; broadbandlink →
6Carbon MapperpresentPoint source~30 m~95 km380–2,500 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 sourcelink →
7GaoFen-5 / GF-5BpresentPoint source30 m60 km400–2,500 nm~5 nm~5 days~150AHSI hyperspectral imager1.66 µm band; point-source detection capabilitygaofen5
8ZiYuan-1 (ZY-1 02D)presentPoint source30 m60 km400–2,500 nm~10 nm (166 bands)~26 days~100AHSI hyperspectralSWIR bands ~1.6–2.4 µmziyuan1
9EnMAPpresentPoint source30 m30 km420–2,450 nm~6.5 nm (228 bands)~4 days (tasked) / 27 days sys.~100–400Pushbroom hyperspectral (VNIR + SWIR)1.66 µm; ~100–200 kg/h detection limitlink →
10PRISMApresentPoint source30 m30 km400–2,500 nm~10 nm (239 bands)Tasked (~29-day systematic)~150–300Pushbroom hyperspectral (HYC + PAN)1.66 µm SWIR; ~200–500 kg/h detectionprisma
11EMITpresentPoint source60 m72 km380–2,510 nm~7.4 nm (285 bands)~monthly (ISS orbit)~300–600 (SWIR)Imaging spectrometer (Dyson design) on ISS1.66 µm; MDL ~100–500 kg/h; global surveylink →
12VIIRSpresentPoint source375 m (I) / 750 m (M)3,000 km0.41–12.0 µmMultispectral (22 bands)~Daily (NOAA-20 + Suomi-NPP)~200 (SWIR)Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer SuiteM10 1.61 µm, M11 2.25 µm; super-emitter / large flareslink →
13Sentinel-3presentPoint source300 m (SLSTR+OLCI)1,270 km (SLSTR)0.4–12.0 µmMultispectral~Daily (2 sats)~100SLSTR + OLCISWIR 1.6 µm band (F2); large plume sensitivity onlylink →
14GOES-16/17/18presentPoint source2 km (SWIR)Full disk (geostationary)0.47–13.3 µmMultispectral (16 bands)5–15 min~100ABI (Advanced Baseline Imager)Band 5 1.61 µm; flare/fire monitoring; ~MW sourcesgoes_abi
15MTG (Meteosat-I)futurePoint source0.5–2 km (geostationary)Full disk0.3–13.3 µm (FCI)Multispectral + IRS sounder10 min (FCI full disk)TBDFCI + LI + IRS (on MTG-S)IRS 8.0–9.6 µm thermal; area flux focuslink →
16TANGOfuturePoint source~50 m (target)~50 km (target)~1.60–1.70 µm~0.5 nmDaily (4-sat constellation)~300 (target)Compact SWIR grating spectrometer (microsatellite)1.65 µm; point-source MDL ~100 kg/htango
17CO2ImagefuturePoint source~4 km~200 km1.60–1.68 µm + 2.0 µm~0.1 nm~Daily (planned constellation)TBDCompact grating spectrometer1.65 µm; area flux and point-source blendedco2image
18SBGfuturePoint source~30 m~145 km380–2,500 nm~10 nm (420+ bands)~16 days (systematic)~300–500Wide-swath hyperspectral (VNIR + SWIR)1.66 µm; successor to EMIT heritagelink →
19CHIMEfuturePoint source~20 m~45 km400–2,500 nm~10 nm~5 days (2 sats)~300Pushbroom hyperspectral (ESA Copernicus)1.66 µm SWIR bandchime
20SCIAMACHYpastArea flux30×60 km (nadir)960 km240–2,380 nm~0.24–1.5 nm6 days~500–1000SCIAMACHY on Envisat (2002–2012)1.66 µm; column XCH₄; ~20 ppb precisionsciamachy
21MethaneSATpresentArea flux~1 km~200 km1,590–1,690 nm + O₂~0.1 nm~Daily (key O&G basins)~200–400Grating spectrometer (EDF / Harvard CfA)1.65 µm; XCH₄ precision ~2 ppb; MDL ~100 kg/h arealink →
22GOSAT / IBUKIpresentArea flux10.5 km footprintSparse (158 km spacing)0.76, 1.6, 2.0 µm + TIR~0.04–0.2 nm (FTS)3 days~200–300TANSO-FTS (Fourier Transform Spectrometer)1.65 µm; XCH₄ precision ~8–10 ppb; column retrievalgosat
23Sentinel-5P / TROPOMIpresentArea flux5.5×3.5 km2,600 km270–2,385 nm~0.25 nm (SWIR)Daily global~100–1000TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument)2.3 µm SWIR; XCH₄ precision ~0.6%; MDL ~1,000 kg/hlink →
24GOSAT-GW / IBUKI-3futureArea flux~3 km~50 km + wide scan0.76, 1.6, 2.0 µm + TIR~0.04 nm (FTS)~3 days~300TANSO-FTS-2 + CAI-2 (launched Dec 2023)1.65 µm; improved XCH₄ precision ~5 ppblink →
25Sentinel-5 (MetOp-SG)futureArea flux~5.5×3.5 km2,600 km270–2,385 nm~0.25 nm (SWIR)Daily global~200UVNS on MetOp-SG2.3 µm SWIR; successor to TROPOMI; improved radiometrylink →
26CO2MfutureArea flux~2 km~250 km1.61 µm + 2.0 µm + O₂~0.1 nm~5–7 days (3 sats)~300Grating spectrometer (ESA Copernicus CO₂M)1.61 µm XCH₄; co-retrieved with XCO₂co2m
27MERLINfutureArea 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 targetmerlin

Notes

References

Per-row citations are indexed in the table’s Ref column. Full bibliographic entries live in methane.bib; the keys used here are: NASA / USGS, 1982NASA / USGS, 1999Drusch et al., 2012GHGSat Inc., 2016NASA / USGS, 2013Carbon Mapper, 2024China National Space Administration, 2018China Centre for Resources Satellite Data and Application, 2019Storch et al., 2023Italian Space Agency (ASI), 2019Green & others, 2022NOAA / NASA, 2011ESA Copernicus, 2016Schmit et al., 2017EUMETSAT, 2025TNO / SRON / ISISpace, 2027CO2Image compact grating spectrometer, 2027NASA Earth System Observatory, 2028ESA Copernicus, 2028Bovensmann et al., 1999Environmental Defense Fund, 2024Kuze et al., 2009Veefkind et al., 2012JAXA / NIES / MOEJ, 2023ESA Copernicus / EUMETSAT, 2025ESA Copernicus, 2026Ehret et al., 2017.

References
  1. Veefkind, J. P., Aben, I., McMullan, K., Förster, H., de Vries, J., Otter, G., Claas, J., Eskes, H. J., de Haan, J. F., Kleipool, Q., & others. (2012). TROPOMI on the ESA Sentinel-5 Precursor: a GMES mission for global observations of the atmospheric composition for climate, air quality and ozone layer applications. Remote Sensing of Environment, 120, 70–83.
  2. Ehret, G., Bousquet, P., Pierangelo, C., Alpers, M., Millet, B., Abshire, J. B., Bovensmann, H., Burrows, J. P., Chevallier, F., Ciais, P., & others. (2017). MERLIN: a French-German space lidar mission dedicated to atmospheric methane. Remote Sensing, 9(10), 1052.
  3. GHGSat Inc. (2016). GHGSat WAF-P imaging spectrometer constellation. https://www.ghgsat.com/
  4. Italian Space Agency (ASI). (2019). PRISMA (PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa) hyperspectral imager.
  5. Carbon Mapper. (2024). Carbon Mapper: airborne and satellite imaging spectroscopy for greenhouse gas monitoring. https://carbonmapper.org/
  6. NASA Earth System Observatory. (2028). Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) imaging spectrometer. https://sbg.jpl.nasa.gov/
  7. ESA Copernicus. (2028). Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment (CHIME).
  8. ESA Copernicus. (2026). Copernicus CO₂ monitoring mission (CO2M).
  9. TNO / SRON / ISISpace. (2027). TANGO: compact SWIR grating spectrometer constellation for point-source emissions.
  10. JAXA / NIES / MOEJ. (2023). GOSAT-GW (IBUKI-3) TANSO-FTS-2 + CAI-2. https://www.gosat-gw.jp/en/
  11. Green, R. O., & others. (2022). EMIT: Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation. https://earth.jpl.nasa.gov/emit/
  12. NASA / USGS. (1982). Landsat 4 & 5 (Thematic Mapper). https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/satellites/landsat-4/
  13. NASA / USGS. (1999). Landsat 7 (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, ETM+). https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/satellites/landsat-7/
  14. Drusch, M., Del Bello, U., Carlier, S., Colin, O., Fernandez, V., Gascon, F., Hoersch, B., Isola, C., Laberinti, P., Martimort, P., & others. (2012). Sentinel-2: ESA’s optical high-resolution mission for GMES operational services. Remote Sensing of Environment, 120, 25–36.
  15. NASA / USGS. (2013). Landsat 8 & 9 (Operational Land Imager, OLI). https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/satellites/landsat-8/
Plume simulation
Plume simulation — atmospheric dispersion forward models
Notes
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