A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch the ESA’s EarthCARE satellite into orbit at 3:20 pm PT from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, California. The Airbus-built EarthCARE (Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer) spacecraft will study the role that clouds and aerosols play in heating / cooling Earth’s atmosphere.
The data received aims to help researchers better understand climate change. It will do this by drawing up vertical profiles of natural and human-made aerosols, register the distribution of water droplets / ice crystals, how they are transported in clouds, and provide essential input to improve the modeling of the warming climate / weather forecasting. EarthCARE was developed, built and tested with the involvement of experts from 15 European countries as well as Japan and Canada.
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As the world’s climate continues to change at a faster and faster rate, scientists need ever more sophisticated space assets to enable better analysis. EarthCARE will help fill in the gaps by providing unprecedented measurements so that meteorologists and climatologists can better understand how energy is transmitted within the atmosphere,” said Marc Steckling, Head of Earth Observation, Science and Exploration at Airbus.
