AURA

About This Satellite

Aura launched on July 15, 2004 to investigate atmospheric composition, including ozone, aerosols, and trace gases. The mission connects chemistry with questions about air quality and the ozone layer. Its observations are measurements of the atmosphere, rather than a camera feed showing buildings or a direct reading from a street-level air monitor.

Atmospheric composition has a vertical dimension

A pollutant map needs more than a satellite name to be interpretable. Ask which gas is represented, whether the result is a column or a vertical profile, and which time interval is shown. These choices determine what the observation can say about transport, chemistry, and conditions near the ground.

Use the launch date, not an unrelated catalog timestamp

This record uses NASA's July 15, 2004 launch date in preference to a conflicting secondary metadata value. The launch event remains fixed even as the orbital elements change. A new TLE epoch dates an orbit estimate; it cannot revise when Aura left Earth or turn an archived gas measurement into a current one.

Mission reference: NASA: Aura mission and verified launch date. Editorial review: 2026-09-12.

OMI reads the spectral signature of reflected sunlight

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument measures ultraviolet and visible sunlight scattered back from the atmosphere and surface. Its products include ozone and nitrogen dioxide information. A nitrogen dioxide column describes an amount through a layer of air, not automatically the concentration a person breathes at ground level; that interpretation needs additional information and appropriate retrieval methods.

Reference: NASA: Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument.

MLS follows chemistry high above the surface

The Microwave Limb Sounder provides measurements used to investigate ozone chemistry and pollution transport in the upper troposphere and stratosphere. NASA highlights carbon monoxide as a tracer of transported pollution. These observations complement column maps because they help locate changes in the atmosphere vertically, rather than treating all gas along a viewing direction as equivalent.

Reference: NASA: Aura Microwave Limb Sounder science.

An active mission does not mean every original instrument is active

The TES mission ended on January 31, 2018, while other Aura instruments continued. Instrument-specific operating periods must therefore accompany any selection of Aura data. A mission-level active label is not permission to assume a new observation exists from every instrument carried at launch.

Reference: NASA JPL: Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer mission end.

Reading this orbital snapshot

Based on TLE epoch: 2026-09-05. Estimated altitude ranges from 687 km at perigee to 690 km at apogee, a difference of 2 km. The orbital period is about 98.5 minutes. Eccentricity 0.00016 indicates a nearly circular path. In a two-body approximation, perigee speed is 1.00 times apogee speed. These are mean-element estimates, not instantaneous measurements. Distance per orbit uses an ellipse approximation.

Saved build snapshot. If a valid TLE is retrieved, this explanation and the orbit panel update together. Otherwise this dated snapshot is retained.

Ground track is not sensor coverage

An inclination of 98.35 degrees implies approximate geocentric ground-track limits of 81.7 degrees north and south. This is a retrograde orbit, moving against the direction of Earth rotation. The plotted line marks the point beneath the object. It does not represent camera coverage, radio reception, or a guaranteed visible pass.

Accuracy and missing information

The introductory record describes the build snapshot. The orbital snapshot explanation and orbit panel share any successfully retrieved TLE; check the displayed epoch. Reentered objects retain historical data only. Mission history is not rewritten by TLE updates. TLE/SGP4 positions are predictions and can change after maneuvers or updated observations. The 14-day stale-data cutoff is a display safeguard, not an accuracy guarantee. Local passes are geometric predictions, not a visibility forecast. No verified operator or mission status means unknown, not active. Do not use this catalog for collision avoidance or operational flight decisions.

Catalog sources: CelesTrak SATCAT: NORAD 28376 · GCAT: S28376 (source update 2026 Sep 4 2345:57). Supplementary metadata: SatNOGS DB, retrieved 2026-09-05T12:57:25.375Z. Page assembled 2026-09-15. GCAT phase codes describe trajectory phases, not mission health.

Learn more: TLE data · Perigee and apogee · Ground tracks · JOT (Jewawud Live Orbital Map)

Satellite Details