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.
Retired SAGE III Project Scientist, Dr. Joseph Zawodny, received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal on August 2. He was awarded for his “Sustained, distinguished contributions to an increased scientific understanding of the Earth’s upper atmosphere.” The Distinguished Service Medal is the most prestigious honor award, approved by the NASA administrator, given to a government employee […]
The SAGE III/ISS mission has assembled its science team members! The individuals on this team from a variety of diverse institutions will conduct studies using the data from the SAGE III instrument to help us better understand the composition of Earth’s atmosphere and how it’s changing. These ten individuals, selected by competitive solicitation, will provide […]
The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III), a NASA Langley Research Center-led mission, was launched on February 19, 2017 and installed on the International Space Station (ISS) during a 10-day robotic operation. Since March 2017, the instrument has been measuring and collecting data on the Earth’s sunscreen, stratospheric ozone, as well as other […]
Members of the SAGE team attended the February Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Monthly Status Review at NASA Headquarters to present an overview and status of SAGE III/ISS and SAGE IV to the Science Mission Directorate. LaRC Center Director, Dr. Dave Bowles, was in attendance to introduce the SAGE team. The SAGE III/ISS portion of the talk […]
The first set of lunar data collected from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III), a NASA instrument that launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in February 2017, is now available for public use. The data is available through the Atmospheric Science Data Center and includes measurements of ozone and nitrogen trioxide. […]
A pyrocumulus cloud is formed by extreme heating of the air near the earth’s surface. Forest fires can induce the formation process of this type of cloud. The plot below shows an enhancement in the aerosol extinction coefficient detected by the SAGE III/ISS instrument between July 2017 and November 2017, following the enormous pyrocumulus event […]
The first wave of atmospheric data from SAGE III/ISS is now available for public use through NASA’s Atmospheric Science Data Center. The data was collected from June 2017 to August 2017 and includes measurements of ozone, aerosols and nitrogen dioxide. SAGE III scientists are seeking feedback on this initial data from the international atmospheric science […]
Just like the millions of people across the United States who got to view the Great American Eclipse just a couple of weeks ago, the SAGE III instrument, from its perch on the International Space Station was able to catch a glimpse as well. The instrument completed a sunset occultation measurement during the solar eclipse […]
SAGE III/ISS is assembling its Science Team! NASA is looking for about 10 team members that, if selected, would be funded to provide validation, limb scatter algorithm development, assessments of atmospheric composition, studies of clouds and aerosols, analysis of SAGE III/ISS data, contributions to modeling efforts, and multi-sensor data products. The Research Opportunities in Earth […]
