Climate monitoring satellite leaves Europe for US launch

EarthCARE will enhance global climate monitoring

An Airbus-built EarthCARE (Earth Clouds, Aerosols, and Radiation Explorer) spacecraft has embarked from Munich to Vandenberg, California.

This marks a significant step in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) FutureEO programme. This complex Earth Explorer mission will launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket in May.

EarthCARE, a joint initiative between ESA and the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), aims to address uncertainties surrounding the impact of clouds and aerosols on Earth’s atmosphere and contribute crucial data to our understanding of climate change.

Developed with the collaborative efforts of experts from 15 European countries, Japan, and Canada, the spacecraft will undertake groundbreaking research on the role of clouds and aerosols in regulating Earth’s energy budget.

Marc Steckling, Head of Earth Observation, Science, and Exploration at Airbus, stressed the mission’s importance in rapidly changing global climates.

“As the world’s climate continues to change faster, scientists need more sophisticated space assets to enable better analysis.

“EarthCARE will help fill in the gaps by providing unprecedented measurements so that meteorologists and climatologists can better understand how energy is transmitted within the atmosphere,” he stated.

Comprehensive data

EarthCARE’s scientific instruments, including the Atmospheric Lidar ATLID, a Broad-Band Radiometer, a Multi-Spectral Imager, and a Cloud Profiling Radar, will work in tandem to provide comprehensive data on aerosols, cloud composition, and their interaction.

The satellite’s capabilities will enable researchers to refine cloud development models, understand their behaviour, and improve the accuracy of weather forecasting.

The 2-tonne satellite, built by Airbus Defence and Space in Friedrichshafen (Germany), will orbit Earth in a Sun-synchronous 400km polar orbit, crossing the equator in the early afternoon to optimise daylight conditions.

With backing from over 200 research institutes worldwide, EarthCARE is poised to play a pivotal role in advancing our knowledge of Earth’s climate and supporting efforts to address climate change.

Featured image: EarthCARE satellite is packed into its container for its flight to the launchpad in California. Credit: Airbus