All good things must come to an end, and this includes a NASA satellite that has been orbiting the Earth since before the turn of the century, investigating how the Earth absorbed radiation from the Sun and making crucial measurements.
The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite was sent into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on Oct. 5, 1984, and after almost 40 years in space, it returned to Earth on Sunday night, according to the space agency.
The 5,400-pound satellite reentered the atmosphere over the Bering Sea, and while NASA expected most of it to burn up on reentry, some of the components survived, according to the Department of Defense.
The ERBS had three instruments on it, two of which measured the Earth’s radiative energy budget and one that made measurements of the stratospheric ozone, water vapor, nitrogen dioxide, and aerosols, all things that NASA says are crucial to life on Earth.
“Ozone concentrations in the stratosphere play an important role in protecting life on Earth from damaging ultraviolet radiation,” the space agency said.
It carried out its service for nearly 21 years of the almost four decades it spent in orbit.
The initial expectation for the satellite was that it would last just two years, according to a release from NASA. However, it continued to operate up until it was retired in 2005. Since then, it has circled the Earth, just enjoying the ride.
Overall, researchers were able to measure the effects of human activities on Earth’s radiation balance thanks to the observations and data collected by the satellite.
“That data helped shape the international Montreal Protocol Agreement, resulting in a dramatic decrease around the globe in the use of ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons,” NASA wrote.
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