MethaneSat down: how New Zealand space ambitions fell off the radar

Satellite built to track emissions fails just as New Zealand scientists about to take control and reap returns of NZ$29m government investment

For scientist Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, the news that a methane-tracking satellite was lost in space last week left her feeling like the air had been sucked from her lungs.

It happened just days before New Zealand was due to take control of the spacecraft, known as MethaneSat, which was designed to name and shame" the worst methane polluters in the oil and gas industry.