Hunting Invisible Climate Gas from Orbit – with Daria Stepanova, Airmo | DeepDive SpaceTech #3

In this DeepDive SpaceTech episode, David Wortmann speaks with Daria Stepanova, CEO and co-founder of AIRMO, about a climate gas that has long stayed out of sight: methane. It is responsible for around 30 percent of current global warming, yet roughly 70 percent of leaks go undetected, costing the energy industry billions in lost gas every year. The tricky part is not the fix. A leak can be sealed and an open vent closed quickly. The real challenge is finding it, because methane is invisible. This is where AIRMO comes in, with a proprietary sensor suite that measures the gas through its absorption lines in the shortwave infrared and pairs a spectrometer with a micro-LiDAR system for higher accuracy. Daria explains how the company combines drones, aircraft and satellites into a monitoring approach that spans from a few metres to 500 kilometres from the source, why it still relies on public satellite data today, and how a first proprietary mission with partner EnduroSat is set to grow into a constellation of more than twelve satellites for global, near real-time monitoring. The conversation covers AIRMO's customers, from energy companies such as Uniper to gas storage and pipeline operators across Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, the role of the EU Methane Regulation as a driver, and the question of how a view from space can reveal one of the fastest levers in climate action.