Building the Aura Spacecraft

Aura was launched on July 15, 2004. This gallery shows a glimpse into the process of building the Aura spacecraft and instruments being built at Goddard Space Flight Center. The Aura spacecraft was designed for a six-year lifetime. From monitoring the hole in the ozone above the Antarctic to studying air quality around the entire planet, NASA’s Aura satellite has provided scientists with essential measurements during its two decades in orbit. Each of Aura's four instruments provide unique and complementary capabilities that enable daily global observations of Earth's atmospheric ozone layer, air quality, and key climate parameters.