The EarthCARE satellite, a groundbreaking mission set to enhance our understanding of clouds and aerosols in the climate system, is ready for launch. Scheduled to lift off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than May 28, 2024, this mission aims to provide invaluable data on cloud-aerosol interactions. These insights will significantly contribute to our knowledge of climate change and inform future strategies for climate adaptation and mitigation. (European Space Agency)
A McGill University research group has been supporting EarthCARE since 2008. Here is a member who can comment on the mission:
Pavlos Kollias, Adjunct Professor, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
“The EarthCARE mission is one of the most ambitious projects ever tackled at the European Space Agency. At McGill, my team and I developed the data products for the first space-based Cloud Profiling Radar. This incredible technology lets us measure vertical air movement in clouds and the size of particles like raindrops and snowflakes. This mission is crucial for understanding cloud interactions, which play a vital role in our climate system.”
Pavlos Kollias is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. For nearly ten years, he served as Canada Research Chair in Radar Applications for Weather and Climate Research. He is also involved in several satellite missions with NASA and the European Space Agency.
pavlos.kollias [at] mcgill.ca (English)