Science
AURA
Atmospheric Chemistry · NASA
Right now
LiveIt moves every second. See exactly where it is — worked out from its orbit, on your own device — on the live 3D globe.
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NASA's atmospheric chemistry observatory monitors the ozone layer and air pollutants simultaneously. Its MLS instrument detected that the ozone layer has begun recovering since the Montreal Protocol banned CFCs — one of the great environmental policy successes, confirmed from space. Its OMI maps air quality over every major city on Earth daily.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 430–431 mi (692–694 km)
- Inclination
- 98.4°
- One orbit
- 98.5 minutes14.6 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 28376
- Int’l designator
- 2004-026A
- Launched
- 2004
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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