News Earth

The ozone layer shields life on Earth. We’ll soon lose a key way to monitor its health

NASA's Aura and Canada's SCISAT near the end of missions to monitor ozone-depleting substances

An illustration of a satellite floating above Earth

NASA’s Aura satellite (illustrated) has been orbiting Earth for more than 20 years. It is expected to run out of power in mid-2026.

NASA

By Nikk Ogasa

Humankind will soon lose a great deal of vigilance over the ozone layer, which shields life on Earth from harmful solar radiation.

The impending loss of NASA’s Aura and the Canadian Space Agency’s SCISAT satellites threatens scientists’ ability to closely monitor compounds that destroy ozone and alter stratospheric circulation. With no planned missions to replace either satellite, a data desert in the stratosphere appears imminent, researchers warn in the March Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

“We’ve been thinking about this for years,” says atmospheric scientist David Fahey of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colo.,