Introduction

Abstract

In our modern high-tech world we very much depend on the unique benefits of space, although we often do not realize it. Satellites broadcast a television news program to us, including a report from Moscow sent to the news studio by a journalist via a satellite link. The report concerns the latest international agreements to limit the production of CFC-chemicals, which, when they escape into the atmosphere, can destroy the ozone layer. Earth-observing satellites helped to reveal the extent of the problem over Antarctica, and detected the smaller ozone holes over the Arctic. This new knowledge convinced us that we must prevent further damage to this precious atmospheric shield, which protects us against the harmful ultraviolet radiation of the Sun. Without continuous monitoring from space, it would have been impossible for scientists and politicians to appreciate the scale of the ozone problem. Without urgent action, the ozone holes could have grown much larger, considerably increasing our chances of developing skin cancer or cataracts.