The NASA Reauthorization Act led to a bipartisan bill that would instruct NASA to “use the satellites and data infrastructure it already runs to deliver more accurate methane measurements, without adding new regulations or expanding enforcement authority,” one of its sponsors told the Washington Reporter.
Reps. Pat Harrigan (R., N.C.) and Don Beyer (D., Va.), are introducing the Methane Monitoring Science Act of 2026, obtained exclusively by the Reporter, which builds off of what Harrigan described as a “common-sense, high-impact R&D measure that directs NASA to evaluate and integrate its existing methane characterization assets, including satellite hardware, public-private partnerships, and data systems, to sharpen the competitive edge of American energy.”
But, Harrigan noted, “to maintain our competitive edge, U.S. industry will increasingly depend on the accurate monitoring of methane emissions across the entire natural gas supply chain. Currently, we have a ‘blind spot.’ Today’s methane characterization technologies are often fragmented or limited in their ability to deliver the complex, real-time measurements required by a modern economy. This technical gap puts America’s carbon advantage and our energy dominance at risk. If we cannot measure it, we cannot defend our lead in places like Europe.”
As the “gold standard” for “spectrometry, satellite deployment, and the management of massive data sets,” NASA is in a good position to help fill that blind spot, Harrigan added.
“This leading federal research agency is uniquely positioned to address our current vulnerability by advancing critical R&D into novel methane detection and measurement technologies,” he said. “By leveraging NASA’s sophisticated hardware and data processing capabilities, we can provide the American energy sector with the high-fidelity tools necessary to maintain U.S. leadership in LNG exports for decades to come.”
Beyer, Harrigan’s Democratic counterpart on the bill, added that “identifying methane leaks is critical for the success of the American energy and methane mitigation industry. Innovative technologies are available to capture methane leakage, but a primary challenge is finding and tracking those leaks. Our legislation would coordinate monitoring systems and technologies to identify leaks more quickly and effectively than they can now.”
“American energy competes in global markets where credibility matters,” Harrigan told the Reporter, explaining why his bill is necessary. “Right now, methane data is scattered across different systems, which makes it harder for U.S. producers to clearly show how they operate. When measurement is solid, American energy is stronger, exports are more competitive, and our national security is better protected.”
