The satellite was part of groundbreaking efforts to track methane pollution and make information public. Capping methane leaks is one of the quickest ways to tackle global warning, say scientists, and MethaneSAT was a publicly-available global map of emissions.

An $88m (£65m) satellite designed to detect releases of the planet-warming gas methane from oil and gas production, has been lost in space in a major setback for climate efforts. The MethaneSat satellite which had backing from Google and billionaire Jeff Bezos, was launched only last year aboard an Elon Musk SpaceX rocket.

The spacecraft, MethaneSAT, was just a year into its mission to provide a clearer picture of planet-warming emissions from oil and gas sites.