EarthCARE

EarthCARE
European Space Agency · CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · source
Name	EarthCARE
Mission type	Earth observation
Operator	European Space Agency / Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Spacecraft bus	ATLID platform
Manufacturer	Airbus Defence and Space / Thales Alenia Space
Launch mass	1,700 kg
Launch date	2019-??-??
Launch rocket	Vega
Launch site	Guiana Space Centre
Orbit type	Sun-synchronous orbit
Orbit altitude	400 km

EarthCARE

EarthCARE is a joint satellite mission developed by the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to study the role of clouds and aerosols in Earth's radiation budget. The mission integrates advanced sensors developed by contractors such as Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space, and Mitsubishi Electric to provide synergistic observations for climate research. EarthCARE's program objectives align with international efforts led by organizations like the World Meteorological Organization and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Overview

The mission responds to scientific questions framed by panels including the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, the Global Climate Observing System, and working groups of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. EarthCARE combines active and passive instruments to profile clouds and aerosols, linking to field campaigns coordinated with facilities such as Bureau of Meteorology observatories, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and research groups from University of Oxford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. Results are intended to support initiatives by the European Commission and agencies like NASA and JAXA in improving representation of cloud processes in models used by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project.

Mission and Objectives

Primary objectives target quantification of cloud radiative effects and aerosol-cloud interactions identified by the World Climate Research Programme and the Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project. Key goals include vertical profiling of cloud microphysics to constrain parameterizations in climate models developed by institutions such as Hadley Centre, National Center for Atmospheric Research, and GFDL. The mission supports verification of one-dimensional and three-dimensional radiative transfer schemes used by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and assimilation systems at agencies including Météo-France and Deutscher Wetterdienst.

Spacecraft and Instruments

The platform carries a suite of instruments: an atmospheric lidar developed in collaboration with Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and Université Paris-Saclay, a cloud profiling radar with heritage from JAXA missions, a multi-spectral imager inspired by instruments on Sentinel-3, and a broadband radiometer related to instruments flown on CERES. Instrument teams include contributors from University of Reading, Caltech, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, Università di Bologna, and University of Tokyo. Payload elements were integrated and tested at facilities such as European Space Research and Technology Centre and Tsukuba Space Center.

Launch and Orbit

EarthCARE was launched aboard the Vega from the Guiana Space Centre into a sun-synchronous orbit roughly aligned with missions such as Sentinel-1 and CloudSat to facilitate cross-calibration. The orbital configuration enables frequent sun-synchronous overpasses comparable to those of Landsat, Suomi NPP, and MetOp series, allowing intercomparison with datasets from Aqua, Terra, and CALIPSO. Coordination with ground networks including AERONET, ARM (Atmospheric Radiation Measurement), and national observatories supports validation campaigns.

Data Products and Applications

EarthCARE produces levelled data streams for cloud profiles, aerosol optical properties, and radiative fluxes analogous to products from MODIS, CALIPSO, CloudSat, and CERES. Data serve diverse user communities: climate modelers at IPCC-related centers, weather services like UK Met Office, and research consortia such as European Research Council-funded projects. Applications include improving parameterizations in models maintained by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction, advancing retrieval algorithms employed by European Space Agency missions, and supporting pattern attribution studies undertaken by groups at Stanford University and Princeton University.

Operations and Ground Segment

Mission operations are coordinated by European Space Operations Centre in liaison with JAXA control centers and industrial partners including Airbus Defence and Space and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Ground segment responsibilities span command, telemetry, and data processing with science support from teams at Institute of Atmospheric Physics (CAS), DWD, and university consortia including Imperial College London and University of Reading. Calibration and validation activities involve campaigns at sites such as ARM Southern Great Plains, the Puyehue Observatory, and shipborne experiments run by Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Scientific Results and Impact

Early results mirror advances demonstrated by predecessors like CloudSat and CALIPSO, refining estimates of cloud radiative forcing that feed into assessments by IPCC Working Groups. Findings contribute to improvements in convection and cloud-aerosol interaction schemes used by centers such as ECMWF, UK Met Office, and NCAR, and inform policy-relevant metrics reviewed by UNFCCC negotiators. Cross-disciplinary impacts reach atmospheric chemistry groups at NOAA and ecosystem modelers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, while training programs at University of Cambridge and ETH Zurich expand the next generation of remote sensing scientists.

Category:European Space Agency satellites Category:Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency missions Category:Earth observation satellites