The instrument sends and receives laser light

The measuring instrument in space will search at 25,000 kilometres per hour for both natural methane sources and those caused by human activities. Fifty times per second, it will send a laser beam to the ground and receive the return signal. "With these measurements, we will obtain a world map showing atmospheric methane concentrations and also reveal regional differences," says Gerhard Ehret from the DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics.