Clouds play significant role in heating and cooling Earth's atmosphere, but relationship with aerosols not well understood
Cooperative project between European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
EarthCARE satellite will provide valuable data to scientists for more accurate climate forecasts
Equipped with four instruments to study the role of clouds and aerosols in Earth's temperature balance
European-Japanese climate research satellite named EarthCARE launched into orbit on May 28, 2024
Satellite lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
Second of two SpaceX missions on May 28, 2024 sent a group of Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket produced sonic booms during landing process heard in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties
A European-Japanese climate research satellite named EarthCARE was launched into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on May 28, 2024. The satellite lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 3:20 p.m., successfully deploying about 10 minutes later according to SpaceX's webcast.
The EarthCARE satellite is equipped with four instruments designed to study the role of clouds and aerosols in Earth's temperature balance. The research is a cooperative project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which was reused for this mission, produced sonic booms during its landing process that were heard in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.
Clouds play a significant role in heating and cooling Earth's atmosphere. However, their relationship with aerosols is not well understood. The EarthCARE satellite will provide valuable data to scientists to produce more accurate climate forecasts.
The launch was the second of two SpaceX missions on May 28, 2024. The first mission sent a group of Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
A new Earth-observation mission, the Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE), made it to space on May 28, 2024.
The Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX lifted off with EarthCARE from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 6:20 p.m. EDT (3:20 p.m. local time).
EarthCARE is a cooperative mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
EarthCARE will examine the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting solar radiation back into space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface.
The mission will operate at an orbit similar to that of the International Space Station but on a different plane, flying a sun-synchronous polar orbit.
EarthCARE carries four scientific instruments: atmospheric lidar, cloud-profiling radar, broadband radiometer and multispectral imager.
The satellite is expected to undergo a six-month commissioning period after launch and its primary mission is scheduled to last at least three years.
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The article contains some instances of appeals to authority and inflammatory rhetoric, but no formal or dichotomous fallacies are present. The author quotes multiple sources to establish the credibility of the information presented in the article. For example, she cites ESA and JAXA as sources for information about EarthCARE's mission objectives and capabilities.
][Editor's note: This story was updated at 6:35 p.m. EDT on May 28 with news of successful launch, rocket landing and satellite deployment.][] The mission will gaze down at particles of clouds and molecules of aerosols, or suspended particles in the atmosphere, to see how they interact with precipitation and how quickly they fall to our planet. EarthCARE will also 'register the distribution of water droplets and ice crystals and how they are transported in clouds.'
Learning about the solar radiation balance on our planet 'is crucial for addressing climate-related issues, and is something that can only be done from space,' ESA added.
The mission will operate at an orbit similar in altitude to that of the ISS (250 miles, or 400 kilometers), but on a different plane: Instead of the more equatorial-focused ISS, EarthCARE will fly a sun-synchronous polar orbit that crosses the equator at local early afternoon, when sunlight is strongest in the region.
