---
title: "NASA’s Latest Mars Drone is Helping Save Lives on Earth"
description: "A drone, originally designed for testing the atmosphere on Mars, is being used by NASA to inspect natural gas pipelines. Test flights will show whether the tech can be used for large-scale monitoring that will contribute to climate change studies."
date: "2016-03-31"
modified: "2016-03-31"
authors:
  - name: "Sarah Marquart"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/sarah_fqtq.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/drone-intended-mars-used-inspect-natural-gas-pipelines"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Drones"
  - "Mars"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "Autonomous vehicles"
  - "drone"
  - "energy"
  - "Jet Propulsion Laboratory"
  - "mars"
  - "NASA"
  - "natural gas"
  - "Open Path Laser Spectrometer"
  - "technology"
  - "transport"
---

# NASA’s Latest Mars Drone is Helping Save Lives on Earth

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/drone-sniff_B.jpg>)
*University of California, Merced \<em\>Image: University of California, Merced\</em\>*

Inspecting natural gas lines for leaks is a never-ending (and potentially dangerous) job—not for a drone though. To that end, a drone that was originally designed for testing the atmosphere on Mars [is being used](<http://www.gizmag.com/methane-leaks-pipes-drone-nasa-jpl/42512/>) by NASA to inspect natural gas pipelines.

Methane is not easy to detect. And that's putting it mildly. It's a colorless, toxic, and by the time you can detect it (usually by smell), it's often too late. It's also [*devastating* to the environment](<http://apps.sepa.org.uk/spripa/Pages/SubstanceInformation.aspx?pid=65>).

Developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, the Open Path Laser Spectrometer (OPLS) is able to detect methane in parts per *billion* by volume, and it is small enough to be installed in a quadcopter.

![University of California, Merced](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/drone-sniff_A.jpg>)
*University of California, Merced*

Currently, the OPLS-equipped [drone](<https://futurism.com/japanese-company-launches-drone-delivery-service-golf-course.md>) is undergoing flight tests. The project will also carry out flight tests of fixed-wing drones, which can fly faster and farther than the copter and may be more practical in remote settings.

"These tests mark the latest chapter in the development of what we believe will eventually be a universal methane monitoring system for detecting fugitive natural-gas emissions and contributing to studies of climate change," says Lance Christensen, OPLS principal investigator at JPL.

### Author social links  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/sarah.marquart>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-marquart-ba7aa38b>)  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/sagaofsarah>)

## More

- [NASA’s Opportunity Rover: How 90 days on Mars Turned into 12 Years](<https://futurism.com/nasas-opportunity-rover-90-days-mars-turned-12-years.md>)
- [NASA Just Unveiled This Awesome, Tiny Helicopter That Will Cruise Over Mars](<https://futurism.com/nasa-just-built-a-tiny-helicopter-that-will-fly-over-mars-surface.md>)
- [Uber Plans To Launch Flying Taxis With Technology That Doesn’t Exist](<https://futurism.com/uber-flying-taxis.md>)
- [This Drone Can Stay in the Air Indefinitely](<https://futurism.com/this-drone-can-stay-in-the-air-indefinitely.md>)
- [This Security Drone Can Chase Intruders All By Itself](<https://futurism.com/20036.md>)
- [A Lack of Carbon in Mars’ Atmosphere Leads Scientists to Ask: Did Mars Ever Have Much Water?](<https://futurism.com/site-of-martian-lakes-might-have-been-linked-to-ancient-habitable-environment.md>)
- [Mass Layoffs Hit NASA](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/mass-layoffs-hit-nasa.md>)
- [Drunk Astronauts: This Beer Is the Beginning of Zero-Gravity Drinking](<https://futurism.com/saber-4pines-brewing-astronauts-drunk.md>)