Wednesday, May 29, 2024 The EarthCARE climate monitoring satellite, constructed by Airbus , has been successfully launched from the Vandenberg military base in California. This satellite, officially named the Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer, is a collaborative effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Its mission is to study how clouds and atmospheric aerosols affect Earth’s climate by either reflecting solar radiation back into space, thereby cooling the atmosphere, or by trapping infrared radiation from the Earth’s surface, leading to warming.

“EarthCARE is ESA’s largest and most complex Earth Explorer spacecraft – a flagship mission whose data will help improve the accuracy and reliability of climate and numerical weather prediction models,” said Alain Fauré, Head of Space Systems at Airbus. “International cooperation was key with more than 200 research institutes and 45 companies across Europe working hand in hand to deliver this spacecraft.” EarthCARE is designed to create detailed vertical profiles of both natural and man-made aerosols, track the movement and composition of water droplets and ice within clouds, and enhance climate models and weather prediction accuracy by providing critical data on these interactions.

The satellite’s development involved specialists from 15 European nations along with teams from Japan and Canada, coordinated by Airbus in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Eart.