EO·Atlas
missions
Aura
Aura is a NASA Earth observation mission for atmospheric chemistry and air-quality measurements. The spacecraft launched on 2004-07-15 and remains in extended operation as of 2026-06-14.[1][2] Aura flies in a sun-synchronous near-polar orbit at about 705 km altitude, 98.2 degree inclination, and a 13:45 ascending equator crossing, with a 16-day repeat cycle.[3][4]
The mission carries HIRDLS, MLS, OMI, and TES for trace-gas and atmospheric observations.[2][4] It is designed for systematic atmospheric monitoring rather than commercial tasking, with about 21 years of worldwide air-quality and chemistry archives as of 14 June 2026.[2]
Full specification
All fields
| current status | Extended operations |
| operator | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| launch vehicle | Delta II |
| Launched | 2004-07-15 |
| orbit type | Sun-synchronous near-polar orbit, 705 km altitude, 98.2 degree inclination, approximately 13:45 ascending equator crossing |
| revisit days | 16 |
| tasking supported | No |
| archive depth years | 21 |
| current geographic priority | Global atmospheric chemistry and air-quality observations |
Supply chain position
carries instrument OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument)
carries instrument MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder)
operated by National Aeronautics and Space Administration
launched on Delta II
Sources
- [1]Aura mission overview, NASA Scienceagency doc2026-06-14
- [2]Aura platform, NASA Earthdataagency doc2026-06-14
- [3]About Aura, NASA Scienceagency doc2026-06-14
- [4]Satellite: Aura, WMO OSCARcommunity2026-06-14
How to cite this page
Plain text
Aura. EO-Atlas, SpectraWorks B.V. https://eo-atlas.org/missions/aura (CC BY 4.0)
BibTeX
@misc{eoatlas:missions:aura,
title = {Aura},
author = {{EO-Atlas}},
publisher = {SpectraWorks B.V.},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
url = {https://eo-atlas.org/missions/aura}
}