- Home
- Missions
- Data
- Communications
- People
- The Earth Observer Newsletter
Recent Imagery
You will be directed to the NASA Visible Earth webpage when you select Images by Mission below, or click on the images at right that are randomly generated to represent four out of all possible topics.
You are here
Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO)
Status:
Completed
Mission Category:
Earth System Science Pathfinder Program, A-Train
Launch Date: April 28, 2006
Launch Location: Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA
The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) spacecraft is a joint U.S. (NASA) / French(Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales/CNES) mission. Observations from spaceborne lidar, combined with passive imagery, led to an improved understanding of the role aerosols and clouds play in regulating the Earth's climate, in particular, how aerosols and clouds interact with one another.
NASA and CNES agreed to end the CALIPSO science mission on August 1, 2023. This mission has been highly successful: designed for a lifetime of 3 years, CALIPSO delivered unprecedented measurements of the vertical structure of the Earth’s atmosphere for 17 years.
Key Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation Facts
| Mission/Portal Page: | http://science.nasa.gov/missions/calipso/ |
|---|---|
| Altitude:Distance from sea level. | 705km |
| Inclination: | 98.2° |
| Local Node:Approximate time, at the equator when vehicle is directly overhead. | 1:30 p.m. |
| Instruments: |
CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) IIR (Imaging Infrared Imager) WFC (Wide-Field Camera) |
| Project Scientist(s): |
Chip Trepte |
| Principal Investigator(s): |
Dave Winker Jacques Pelon |
Related Publications:
- A-Train Fact Sheet (Fact Sheets - 263.74 KB)
- CloudSat and CALIPSO (Mission Brochures - 1.32 MB)
- CALIPSO/CloudSat/GRACE (Science Writers' Guide - 2.6 MB)
Relevant Science Focus Areas:
- Atmospheric Composition
- Climate Variability and Change
- Water and Energy Cycles
- Weather
Relevant Science Questions:
- How does the Earth system respond to natural and human-induced changes?
- How is the global Earth system changing?
- How will the Earth system change in the future?
Related Applications:
- Air Quality
- Aviation
- Homeland Security
- Public Health