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| CLARREO | |
|---|---|
| Name | CLARREO |
| Mission type | Earth observation |
| Operator | NASA |
| Launch date | Planned |
| Orbit | Low Earth orbit |
| Instruments | Spectroradiometers, thermal infrared radiometers |
CLARREO
CLARREO is a NASA-led satellite initiative designed to provide SI-traceable climate observations to improve Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments, support National Aeronautics and Space Administration modeling efforts, and advance international climate treaties. The mission aims to deliver benchmark radiometric measurements that tie satellite records to laboratory standards used by institutions such as National Institute of Standards and Technology, European Space Agency, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. CLARREO's data are intended to underpin long-term records used by agencies including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United Kingdom Met Office, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, and research centers such as Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Max Planck Institute for Meteorology.
CLARREO is conceived as a climate benchmark observatory to reduce uncertainty in satellite-derived trends through laboratory-traceable calibration, with ties to measurement frameworks used by World Meteorological Organization, International Electrotechnical Commission, National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom), and Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt. The program complements missions like Aqua (satellite), Suomi NPP, Sentinel-3, Terra (satellite), and GOSAT while addressing intercomparison challenges encountered by programs administered by European Commission, Canadian Space Agency, and Australian Bureau of Meteorology. CLARREO is relevant to international assessments led by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change working groups and to policy dialogues involving United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiators.
Primary objectives include establishing SI-traceable radiometric accuracy to quantify climate trends, enabling cross-calibration of instruments from NOAA, EUMETSAT, JAXA, ISRO, and Roscosmos. The mission supports climate model evaluation used by centers like Met Office Hadley Centre, NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and NCAR. Objectives target atmospheric, cryospheric, and surface energy budget variables critical to assessments by IPCC and specialists at World Climate Research Programme and International Panel on Climate Change-affiliated institutions. CLARREO also aims to inform mitigation and adaptation policy frameworks negotiated at Conference of the Parties sessions under the UNFCCC.
The instrument suite emphasizes high-accuracy spectroradiometers and thermal infrared detectors with onboard reference standards traceable to NIST, PTB, and BIPM protocols. Designs build on heritage from instruments like MODIS, CERES, ASTER, IASI, and AIRS while incorporating advances from programs at JPL, Langley Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, and laboratories such as Los Alamos National Laboratory. Components leverage cryogenic detectors developed in collaboration with Caltech, MIT, Stanford University, and sensor testbeds at Ames Research Center. Calibration strategies draw on methodologies used by projects at NOAA ESRL, CSIRO, CNES, and measurement campaigns coordinated with NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.
CLARREO is planned for a low Earth orbit optimized for diurnal sampling and cross-calibration with sun-synchronous platforms operated by NASA, ESA, NOAA, JAXA, and EUMETSAT. The architecture considers hosted payload options flown on platforms provided by Ball Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and launch services by providers such as United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, and Arianespace. Mission operations would be coordinated through centers like Mission Control Center (Houston), GSFC Mission Operations, and international ground networks including EUMETCast and GEONETCast. The design supports rendezvous and underflight opportunities with aircraft campaigns from NOAA WP-3D Orion and NASA ER-2 for vicarious calibration against field campaigns run by ARM Climate Research Facility.
CLARREO will produce SI-traceable radiance, reflectance, and flux products designed for assimilation by modeling centers including ECMWF, NOAA NCEP, NASA GMAO, and UK Met Office systems. Calibration employs onboard sources referenced to standards maintained by NIST, BIPM, and laboratory facilities at Sandia National Laboratories and Argonne National Laboratory. Data formats and distribution leverage standards used by CEOS, Open Geospatial Consortium, NASA Earthdata, and archives such as NSIDC, PANGEA, and NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. The calibration strategy supports community intercomparisons conducted by groups like Committee on Earth Observation Satellites and workshops co-chaired by WMO technical panels.
Data from CLARREO target improvements in quantifying radiative forcing, feedbacks, and climate sensitivity, informing analyses by IPCC authors and researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Princeton University, Columbia University, and Yale University. Applications include validation of climate model output from CMIP6 participating centers, trend detection studies used by National Academies of Sciences, and evaluations relevant to cryosphere research at NSIDC and ocean heat content work at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The mission underpins operational monitoring used by agencies such as NOAA and research collaborations including International Space Science Institute and Future Earth programs.
CLARREO has evolved through studies and funding reviews at NASA Headquarters, with partnership discussions involving NIST, ESA, JAXA, NOAA, DoD, and academic stakeholders from MIT, Harvard University, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of Washington. The project benefited from advisory inputs by panels convened at National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and international coordination with CEOS and WMO. Development milestones reference heritage programs and mission studies undertaken at Langley Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and industry partners including Ball Aerospace and Lockheed Martin.