Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite between positions downrange, generally northeast of this position. Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was a NASA-operated orbital observatory whose mission was to study the Earth’s atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer. The satellite was deployed from Space Shuttle "Discovery" during the STS-48 mission on 15 September 1991. It entered Earth orbit at an operational altitude of , with an orbital inclination of 57 degrees. The original mission duration was to be only three years, but was extended several times. When the mission finally ended in June 2005 due to funding cuts, 14 years after the
Atmosphere of Venus environment. Microbes in the thick, cloudy atmosphere could be protected from solar radiation by the sulfur compounds in the air. The solar wind may provide a mechanism for the transfer of such microbiota from Venus to Earth. The Venusian atmosphere has been found to be sufficiently out of equilibrium as to require further investigation. Analysis of data from the Venera, Pioneer, and Magellan missions has found the chemicals hydrogen sulfide (HS) and sulfur dioxide (SO) together in the upper atmosphere, as well as carbonyl sulfide (OCS). The first two gases react with each other, implying that something must produce them.