https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202023701006
ESA’s Lidar Missions Aeolus and EarthCARE
1 ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
2 ADS, Airbus Defense and Space, Stevenage, United Kingdom
3 ADS, Airbus Defense and Space, Toulouse, France
4 Leonardo, Pomezia, Italy
5 ADS, Airbus Defense and Space, Rome, Italy
6 DLR, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
7 ECMWF, Reading, United Kingdom
8 ESA-ESRIN, Frascati, Italy
* Email: thomas.kanitz@esa.int
Published online: 7 July 2020
ESAs Earth Explorer Aeolus was launched in August 2018. Aboard the first spaceborne wind lidar ALADIN (Atmospheric LAser Doppler INstrument) was switched on in early September 2018 and demonstrated the capability to provide atmospheric wind profiles globally from particle and molecular backscatter. In doing so, it will contribute to the improvement in numerical weather prediction (NWP) and the understanding of global dynamics. At the same, it is a major step for powerful and frequency stabilized ultraviolet (UV) lasers for space applications. In parallel, ESA and its partners continue the development of this technology by setting up further ground tests based on Aeolus, and preparing the next milestone with ATLID (ATmospheric LIDar) for the Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) mission. ATLID is currently fully integrated and getting prepared for its on-ground testing.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2020
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