Planet Labs, a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, announced its plans to design a specialized version of the Tanager spacecraft. Together with Carbon Mapper, and with support from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Planet plans to architect this cutting-edge spacecraft as a specialized iteration of Tanager, designed to solely target shortwave infrared (SWIR) light, and to capture five times the area coverage of the other Tanager satellites. While Tanager-1 remains the premier solution for broad-spectrum environmental insights from geologic mineralogy to agricultural applications—the SWIR-only Tanager introduces an additive, specialized architecture that will be designed to push the limits of methane and trace gas detection sensitivity.

This SWIR-only version of Tanager will leverage the Carbon Mapper-led Advanced Emissions Monitoring Imaging Spectrometer (AEMIS) airborne system in partnership with JPL, which optimizes performance by “zooming in” on the spectral bands most relevant for atmospheric gas detection. This SWIR-only version of the Tanager hyperspectral satellite is intended to expand the imagery swath to 100km, all while maintaining a 30-meter resolution (GSD). Taken together, these modifications have the potential to enhance support for key commercial applications including mineral exploration, fire fuel monitoring and fire source detection, and more.

“Already a first-of-its-kind partnership, our long-standing collaboration with Carbon Mapper and JPL continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible with hyperspectral technology," said Jeff Guido, Vice President of Space Mission Delivery at Planet. “By growing the Tanager constellation, we plan to further demonstrate our ability to build cutting-edge spacecraft quickly and efficiently, which continues to hold enormous value for our global customers and partners. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the teams at Planet, Carbon Mapper and JPL, whose tireless dedication and innovation make these advancements possible. We are excited to see more of these spacecraft go into orbit and to unlock the global impact they can deliver.”

Slated for launch as early as 2028, this specialized Tanager will be a core component of Carbon Mapper’s long-planned tiered observing system. In addition to Carbon Mapper’s aerial AEMIS imagery, it is designed to help fill critical gaps by providing increased area coverage and spectral resolution from space. As the Tanager mission continues, the spacecraft will be developed to support both wide-scale methane monitoring and various commercial use cases requiring high-fidelity SWIR hyperspectral data. Both Tanager iterations will provide strong complements to one another, helping meet other commercial use cases across biodiversity, water quality, and minerals.

The original Tanager mission formalized a partnership combining Planet’s agile aerospace approach with JPL’s remote sensing technology and Carbon Mapper’s scientific expertise. This collaboration led to the successful launch of Tanager-1 in August 2024, which has since identified over eleven thousand methane plumes from nearly 5,000 sources globally. Looking ahead, Planet intends to build and deploy at least three additional original design Tanagers (VNIR-SWIR) and at least one SWIR Tanager to provide more frequent, actionable data.

Click here to learn more about Planet Lab's Tanager Hyperspectral Imagery