The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) EarthCARE (Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Exporer) satellite was launched last night from California (USA). With four remote sensing instruments on board (an atmospheric LIDAR, a Doppler Cloud radar, a multi-spectral imager, and a broad-band radiometer), it has been designed to study the role of clouds and aerosols in regulating the Earth’s climate. At the ACTRIS-Switzerland station in Payerne, MeteoSwiss and the University of Bern are carrying out remote sensing measurements using instruments similar to those on board EarthCARE. The Payerne measurements will be used – along with measurements from more than 40 other stations – for the calibration and validation of the satellite as part of ATMO-ACCESS.
You can read more about the launch and the unique capabilities of EarthCARE on the ESA website. And check out this article on 10 reasons to be excited about EarthCARE.