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Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE)

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment, SAGE, is a series of instruments designed by NASA to observe stratospheric ozone, aerosols, and water vapor from space. In the mid-1980s, scientists realized there was a problem with Earth’s protective coat of ozone...it was thinning. The SAGE family of instruments was pivotal in making accurate measurements of the amount of ozone loss in Earth’s atmosphere and helped leaders around the world institute an international treaty banning products containing harmful chemicals that destroy stratospheric ozone. SAGE is a key part of NASA’s mission to provide crucial, long-term measurements that will help humans better understand and care for Earth’s atmosphere.

  • Studying Earth’s Stratospheric Water Vapor

    What does water vapor have in common with Sisyphus, the mythological Greek character cursed to roll a rock uphill only to have it roll back down again? Water is continuously cycling on Earth between bodies of water such as oceans, lakes and rivers, land surfaces, and in the atmosphere. When water warms and evaporates from […]

  • New SAGE III Science Team Members Selected

    NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has selected proposals for the solicited SAGE III on ISS Science Team program. The individuals selected for this team, from a variety of diverse institutions, will conduct studies using the data from the SAGE III instrument to help better understand the composition of Earth’s atmosphere and how it’s evolving. These ten […]

  • SAGE III Sees California Wildfire Effects in Stratosphere

    Wildfires have been burning across the state of California since August 2020. As the fires continue to rage, NASA Earth science missions have observed increased numbers of airborne particles known as aerosols across the country. Different types of aerosols scatter or absorb sunlight to varying degrees, depending on their size, type and location. While most […]

  • 20 Years of Observing Earth from the International Space Station

    After 20 years of continuous human presence, the International Space Station (ISS) has provided 241 visitors with an extraordinary view of Earth from outer space — one they have shared with the rest of the world. Astronaut photography, formally called Crew Earth Observations (CEO), has resulted in more than 3.5 million photographs of the ever-changing […]

  • SAGE III Interns Successfully Complete Virtual Internship Program

    NASA offers a variety of internship opportunities to thousands of students across the country throughout the year. The 2020 internship program looked very different due to COVID-19. While interns were not able to be physically on-site at NASA centers, they were able to work virtually from home and gain the same professional experience. Despite the […]

  • NASA’s SAGE III Instrument Observes Aerosol Spike from Australian Fires

    The devastating southeastern Australian bushfires that started last September spewed smoke and aerosols higher into the atmosphere than some Earth-observing instruments have ever measured. After months of hot and dry weather, the fires erupted in the heavily populated areas of New South Wales and Victoria burning millions of acres of land, destroying thousands of homes, […]

  • SAGE III Sees Mercury Transit the Sun

    SAGE III is a planet finder! (… at least in our immediate neighborhood.) It was able to detect Mercury during its recent transit across the sun. The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III instrument uses the Sun to collect data on stratospheric ozone, aerosols, water vapor, and other trace gases during sunrise and sunset […]