An international team of scientists, including Bram Maasakkers (SRON) and Ilse Aben (SRON/VU), has identified 37 point sources in the Permian Basin that each emit over 500 kg of methane per hour. The Permian Basin is a region in Texas and New Mexico that accounts for almost half of the methane emissions of reported emissions from all US oil and gas extraction areas combined. Publication in Science Advances.
Month: June 2021
Venus orbiter EnVision selected as new ESA mission
The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected the Venus orbiter EnVision as the fifth medium-class mission within its Cosmic Vision program. It marks the beginning of a new era of Venus exploration—last week NASA already announced two new missions to Earth’ sister planet. SRON and TU Delft are part of the EnVision consortium.
SRON sends filter wheel and calibration system XRISM telescope to Japan
On June 9th, SRON sends its contributions to the XRISM X-ray telescope to Japan, where space agency JAXA will mount it on the satellite. SRON has been working on a filter wheel plus calibration system for the past few years. In 2023, XRISM will be launched into space, where it will observe phenomena such as black holes and supernovae.
