Retired NASA satellite returns to Earth after 38 years in space

Photo: NASA/Getty Images

January 8 ERBS satellite will return to Earth (Earth Radiation Budget Satellite) of the POT after nearly four decades in space.

NASA reported that the Department of Defense predicted that the satelite of 2,449 kilos will re-enter in the atmosphere at approximately 6:40 p.m. EST on sunday january 8with an uncertainty.

The space agency hopes that most of the satellite burns up while traveling through the atmosphere, but some components are expected to survive reentry. He also rules out that anyone on Earth could get hurt.

“The risk of harm to anyone on Earth is very low: approximately 1 in 9,400,” NASA wrote on its official website, adding that they, along with the Department of Defense, will continue to monitor the satellite’s reentry.

The history of the ERBS

According to NASA, during 21 of the 38 years he was in space, the ERBS actively investigated how the Earth absorbed and radiated energy from the Sunand made measurements of stratospheric ozone, water vapor, nitrogen dioxide, and aerosols.

Launched from the Space Shuttle Challenger on October 5, 1984. the ERBS spacecraft was part of the ERBE mission (Earth Radiation Budget Experiment) from three NASA satellites. He was carrying three instruments, two to measure the Earth’s radiative energy balance and one to measure stratospheric components, including ozone.

The ERBS far exceeded its expected two-year lifespanoperating until its retirement in 2005. Their observations helped researchers measure the effects of human activities on Earth’s radiation budget.

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