The European Space Agency (ESA) is set to launch its Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite tonight, a mission dedicated to unraveling the intricate relationship between clouds, aerosols, and climate change. Equipped with four instruments, EarthCARE will gather unprecedented data on atmospheric profiles and vertical motions of clouds, as well as aerosol profiles, providing valuable insights into their impact on global temperature evolution.
NASA’s CloudSat mission, launched in 2006 to study the structure and composition of clouds, has concluded after nearly two decades in Earth orbit. The satellite carried a powerful radar instrument that provided unprecedented 3D images of clouds, revealing their role in precipitation, atmospheric heating and cooling, and storm development. CloudSat worked in tandem with its sister satellite, CALIPSO, which used lidar technology to study the atmosphere. Both satellites have now been decommissioned, but NASA continues to monitor Earth’s atmosphere and climate with a fleet of other satellites.
