The first direct measurement of oxygen in Earth’s upper atmosphere
SOFIA achieved a science first by directly measuring oxygen in the Earth’s mesosphere and lower thermosphere—two poorly understood regions of our planet’s upper atmosphere. These layers begin some 30 miles (48 kilometers) above the surface, and SOFIA scanned these areas while flying at an altitude of 7 miles (11 km). The measurements were gathered in 2015, but it took several years for scientists to develop the tools and techniques to process the data.
“Given our previous successes, and the strong signal from Earth, it made sense to create the tools necessary to analyze atomic oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere,” Heinz Hübers, a German researcher and SOFIA team member, said in a 2021 NASA statement, adding that “we are very pleased to see that SOFIA can contribute to better understanding our home planet.”
