Lost Dolphin Transferred to Sanctuary in Pakistan

Rescuers pour water over an Indus dolphin inside an ambulance in this still image from a video in Larkana, Pakistan October 30, 2021. (Reuters)
Rescuers pour water over an Indus dolphin inside an ambulance in this still image from a video in Larkana, Pakistan October 30, 2021. (Reuters)
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Lost Dolphin Transferred to Sanctuary in Pakistan

Rescuers pour water over an Indus dolphin inside an ambulance in this still image from a video in Larkana, Pakistan October 30, 2021. (Reuters)
Rescuers pour water over an Indus dolphin inside an ambulance in this still image from a video in Larkana, Pakistan October 30, 2021. (Reuters)

An endangered grey dolphin twitches its flippers weakly as it lies in a truck speeding towards a sanctuary in Pakistan, while rescuers sprinkle water on the animal to keep its skin moist and save it from dying.

The blind Indus River dolphin strayed from its freshwater home into a busy waterway, and had to be lifted out by rescue staff in the southeastern province of Sindh after they trapped it in nets.

Now they must keep it alive as they race to the sanctuary 82 km away where they can free it.

"We have to try and get it to the river as soon as possible," said Mir Akhtar Hussain Talpur, an official of the provincial wildlife department, which has rescued 10 of the animals this year, eight of them in just the last month.

It was a delicate task to keep the skin wet and foster the animal's impression of being still in the water, while ensuring no fluid entered the blowhole by which it breathes, he told Reuters.

The dolphins are being squeezed out of their habitat after human activity, from dams for irrigation projects to pollution, penned them into a 1,200-km stretch of Pakistan's Indus River, or just half their original range.

Living for millions of years in the turbid waters, the mammals, just one of four surviving freshwater species, eventually went blind and use echolocation, or a form of sonar, for navigation.

They can grow to a length of more than two meters and exceed 100 kg in weight, but need waters at least a meter deep to keep alive.



Bezos-backed Methane-tracking Satellite Lost in Space

US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
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Bezos-backed Methane-tracking Satellite Lost in Space

US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)

A satellite backed by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been lost in space while carrying out an important climate change mission, New Zealand officials said Wednesday.

Designed to measure greenhouse gas emissions with "unprecedented resolution", the MethaneSAT space probe was also funded by Wellington and the US-based Environmental Defense Fund.

Plagued with technical problems, the satellite recently stopped responding to its Earth-bound controllers.

"Clearly, this is a disappointing development," said Andrew Johnson, a senior official at the New Zealand Space Agency.

"As those who work in the space sector know, space is inherently challenging, and every attempt -- successful or not -- pushes the boundaries of what we know and what we're capable of."

The Environmental Defense Fund, which led the project, said it was "difficult news" but would not be the end of its methane-tracking efforts.

MethaneSAT was designed to measure emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, which fuels climate change by trapping heat in the planet's atmosphere.

It has proven notoriously difficult to get accurate estimates of the methane emissions belched out by oil and gas projects around the globe.

"It was one of the most advanced methane tracking satellites in space, measuring methane emissions in oil and gas producing regions across the world," the MethaneSAT team said.

Project lead Steven Hamburg said initial data gleaned by the satellite was "remarkable".
"Recent measurements in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico revealed emissions three to five times higher than estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, while emissions observed in the South Caspian region are over 10 times higher than reported," Hamburg wrote on LinkedIn.

MethaneSAT was launched into space in March 2024 on the back of a SpaceX rocket fired from California.

Controllers first lost contact with the satellite on June 20, the MethaneSAT team said in a statement.

They confirmed it had lost all power on Monday this week and was "likely not recoverable".

"The engineering team is conducting a thorough investigation into the loss of communication," MethaneSAT said, according to AFP.

"This is expected to take time. We will share what we learn."

Despite its shorter-than-expected lifespan, MethaneSAT hailed the mission as a "remarkable success in terms of scientific and technological accomplishment".

Amazon founder Bezos pumped more than US$100 million into the project through his philanthropic Earth Fund.

The satellite eventually succumbed after overcoming a string of technical glitches.
It repeatedly entered a sleep, or stand-by, mode without prompting -- forcing engineers to perform a lengthy reset each time.

One of its three thrusters also failed.