Overview
The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite was dedicated to studying how clouds and aerosols impact the Earth’s climate. Scientists have used data from CALIPSO to construct 3D models of the atmosphere that improve our ability to predict future climate change. CALIPSO's LIDAR was also used to measure particles below the ocean surface, including phytoplankton.
CALIPSO was initially part of a constellation of spacecraft called the "A-Train," including Aqua, Aura, and PARASOL spacecraft, dedicated to studying the Earth’s weather and environment. Part of a joint U.S. (NASA) and French (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales [CNES]) satellite mission, CALIPSO launched with BAE Systems-built CloudSat on April 28, 2006, from Vandenberg Air Force Base. In 2018, CALIPSO and CloudSat left the A-Train and were lowered about 10 miles into their own “C-Train.” After 17 years of operations, CALIPSO ended its scientific mission in 2023.
What We Did
We built the LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and wide-field camera instruments, the communications equipment, and integrated the payload. The LIDAR scanned the atmosphere with green and infrared laser light to detect backscatter from clouds and aerosols. The wide-field visible light camera and a three-color infrared imaging radiometer were part of the payload system and recorded additional information about clouds and aerosols.
Originally designed for a program life of three years, CALIPSO operated for 17 years and recorded more than 10 billion LIDAR measurements and informed thousands of scientific reports. One of CALIPSO’s most important applications was measuring smoke plumes soaring above Earth’s surface during Australia’s massive 2020 wildfires.
Both CALIPSO and CloudSat were built on cost-capped budgets for NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program and have delivered high value science far exceeding mission design life. In 2007, a year after launch, our CALIPSO team received a Group Achievement Award from NASA.