SAGE and Hexapod
With the help of ESA, the latest atmospheric display on the ISS now provides information on the level of ozone, aerosol and trioxide of our planet. This NASA sensor was installed last year at the orbital station to study the atmospheric composition of the Earth.
It takes 90 minutes for the station to complete a full flight around the planet, so 16 sunsets and 16 sunsets are recorded every day. Also considered such an “activity” of the moon. Watching a star and a satellite in the atmosphere, SAGE (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment) measures the amount of ozone, aerosols, and other gases.
This information complements the long-term monitoring of European missions. In October 2017, the first Sentinel-5P unit in this series was launched. SAGE is constantly turning to point in the right direction.
Using the location data from the station, the Hexapod computer detects the movement of six “legs” to track a few seconds of sunset and sunrise of the Moon and the Sun. This will be repeated dozens of times a day for many years. SAGE was established in February 2017 and now the public can get acquainted with the first results that they plan to publish every month.
Moonrise observed with the ISS. The sequence of images made by ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli in 2011
The mission was made possible by the successful cooperation of Hexapod and SAGE. ESA knows a lot about tracking the sun from the station thanks to the SOLAR mission, which for more than 9 years has provided the most accurate data on solar energy.
ISS Welcomes the Sun
In the future, they plan to launch the Atmospheric Space Interactions Monitor sensor. He will point directly to the Earth and study high-altitude electrical storms. It can be sent as early as next month. With it, you can take pictures of elusive electrical discharges that can be located above the stratosphere.
