Suggested Searches

Aura

Active Mission

aura science

Explore

Tropospheric Composition

Learn more

Aura (Latin for breeze) obtains measurements of ozone, aerosols and key gases throughout the atmosphere.

Type

Orbiter

Launch

July 15, 2004

Target

Earth

Objective

Measure trace gases in Earth's atmosphere

FEATURED ARTICLE

Aura at 20 Years

Launched in 2004, the Aura mission has been nothing short of transformative for scientific research and applied sciences. Bryan Duncan, Aura's Project Scientist reflects in celebration of the mission.

20 years of Aura

20 years of Aura

System Analysis

Potential Evolution of the Aura Mission

The Aura satellite and its instruments are in good/excellent health, having aged well. This status is expected to continue to the end of the mission. Insufficient power generation by the solar array is conservatively predicted to be the life-limiting factor for the Aura satellite and instruments by mid-2026.

Aura in focus in the A-train

Potential Evolution of the Aura Mission

Aura Stories

Explore All Aura Stories

NASA Celebrates 20 Years of Earth-Observing Aura Satellite

2023 Ozone Hole Ranks 16th Largest, NASA and NOAA Researchers Find

Ozone Hole Continues Shrinking in 2022, NASA and NOAA Scientists Say

2021 Antarctic Ozone Hole 13th-Largest, Will Persist into November

Protecting the Ozone Layer Also Protects Earth’s Ability to Sequester Carbon

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…

Perseverance Rover

This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial…

Parker Solar Probe

On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA's Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona…

Juno

NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet's dense clouds to…