This instrument is designed to improve our understanding of ozone in Earth's stratosphere, especially how ozone is depleted by processes of chlorine chemistry. The instrument measures naturally occurring microwave thermal emission from the limb of Earth's atmosphere to remotely sense vertical profiles of selected atmospheric gases, temperature and pressure.
The instrument flies aboard NASA's Aura spacecraft under the agency's Earth Observing System program. The Microwave Limb Sounder is designed and built by JPL. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the Aura mission.
Purpose: Instrument studying Earth's atmosphere
Launch: July 15, 2004
NASA Satellites Illuminate Pollution's Influence on Clouds, Climate (5/27/08)
Tibet Provides Passage for Chemicals to Reach the Stratosphere (5/9/06)
NASA Spacecraft Measures Unusual 2005 Arctic Ozone Conditions (6/2/05)
NASA'S Aura Satellite Sheds new Light On Air Quality and Ozone Hole (12/14/04)
Aura Post-launch Status Report (8/4/04)
Aura Spacecraft Launched to Better Understand the Air We Breathe (7/15/04)
+ Instrument fact sheet
+ Instrument home page
+ Aura home page
