The CloudSat Mission

The CloudSat Mission deploys the first spaceborne 94 GHz cloud profiling radar in space. The mission was selected under the NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Program (ESSP http://essp.gsfc.nasa.gov) with a scheduled launch for the alter part of 2004. The unique feature of the CloudSat radar lies in its ability to observe jointly most of the clouds and precipitation within its nadir field of view. The CloudSat satellite also flies as part of a constellation of satellites that includes EOS Aqua and EOS Aura at each end of the constellation. CloudSat, as second ESSP mission that flies an aerosol lidar (CALIPSO) and another small satellite, PARASOL, carrying the POLDER polarimeter inserted in the formation between the larger EOS spacecraft. This constellation is referred to as the A-train. An overview of the CloudSat mission, its science goals, science products and validation are summarized. CloudSat seeks to solve a number of outstanding cloud-climate problems and thereby spur improvements in both weather forecasting and climate prediction. It aims to evaluate quantitatively the representation of clouds and cloud processes in global atmospheric circulation models, and the relationship between the vertical profiles of cloud liquid water and ice content and cloud radiative properties, including the radiative heating by clouds.