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Spinoff story
Methane Detector Sniffs Out Leaks
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Methane is the main ingredient in the natural gas that powers heating, cooking, and electricity—and a potent greenhouse gas. Methane can also be a sign of bacterial life, which is why NASA installed a methane detector on the Curiosity rover, designing a brand-new tunable laser spectrometer for the task. A different team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory made it even smaller and faster for methane sniffing on Earth, and Pasadena, California-based SeekOps licensed the technology to detect gas leaks at oil and natural gas wells and more.