Raincube: A proposed constellation of precipitation profiling radars in CubeSat

Numerical climate and weather models depend on measurements from space-borne satellites to complete model validation and improvements. Precipitation profiling capabilities are currently limited to a few instruments deployed in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which cannot provide the temporal resolution necessary to observe the evolution of short time-scale weather phenomena and improve numerical weather prediction models. A constellation of precipitation profiling instruments in LEO would provide this essential capability, but the cost and timeframe of typical satellite platforms and instruments make this solution prohibitive. A new radar instrument architecture that is compatible with low-cost satellite platforms, such as CubeSats and SmallSats, has been designed at JPL that enables constellation missions, which could revolutionize climate science and weather forecasting.