CALIPSO, a joint NASA-CNES lidar satellite, ended its 17-year mission in 2023. Alongside CloudSat, it offered vital atmospheric insights, influencing global understanding of events like the 2020 Australian wildfires and volcanic eruptions. The project fostered a global scientific community. CALIP
Researchers used the space-based CALIPSO lidar to measure the planet’s largest animal migration, which takes place when small sea creatures swim up from the depths at night to feed on phytoplankton, then back down again just before sunrise. Credit: NASA / Timothy Marvel-CNES lidar satellite, ended its 17-year mission in 2023. Alongside CloudSat, it offered vital atmospheric insights, influencing global understanding of events like the 2020 Australian wildfires and volcanic eruptions.
“We had to build, for the first time, a sophisticated lidar capable of operating in space,” said Chip Trepte, NASA’s project scientist for CALIPSO. “Then we intended to fly that satellite in close formation to match the CALIPSO lidar profile measurements with the radar profile measurements from CloudSat.”
The unique and nearly simultaneous observations allowed scientists to build a more sophisticated understanding of several atmospheric processes including cloud formation, atmospheric convection, precipitation, and particle transport. Volcanic ash is a hazard to aircraft. The fine, glassy particles can affect visibility and cause engines to stall. “One of CALIPSO’s most important applications was detecting the presence and measuring the altitude of ash plumes from volcanic eruptions,” Winker said. “These observations were used by Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers around the world to alert and direct commercial aviators to avoid flying into the plumes.
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