 EarthCARE being prepared for shipment to launch site | |
| Mission type | Earth observation |
|---|---|
| Operator | ESA /JAXA /NICT |
| COSPAR ID | 2024-101A |
| SATCATno. | 59908 |
| Website | EarthCare on esa.int |
| Mission duration | 3 years (planned) 1 year, 5 months, 26 days (in progress) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | AstroBus-L |
| Manufacturer | EADS Astrium |
| Launch mass | 2350 kg[1] |
| Dry mass | 2037 kg[1] |
| Dimensions | 2.5 x 19 m |
| Power | 1700 W |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 28 May 2024 22:20 UTC[2] |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5[3] |
| Launch site | VandenbergSLC-4E |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Altitude | 393 km |
| Inclination | 97,1° |
| Period | 92,5 minutes |
| Repeat interval | 25 days |
| Epoch | Planned |
| Transponders | |
| Band | S Band (TT&C support) X band (science data acquisition) |
| Bandwidth | 2 Mbit/s download (S Band) 150 Mbit/s download (X Band) 64 kbit/s upload (S Band) |
| Instruments | |
| ATLID: ATmospheric LIDar CPR: Cloud Profiling Radar MSI: Multi-Spectral Imager BBR: Broad-Band Radiometer | |
 | |
EarthCARE (derived fromEarthCloud,Aerosol andRadiationExplorer), nicknamedHakuryū (Japanese for "white dragon"),[4] is a joint European/Japanese (ESA /JAXA /NICT) satellite, the sixth of ESA'sEarth Explorer Programme.[1][5] The main goal of the mission is the observation and characterization ofclouds andaerosols as well as measuring the reflectedsolar radiation and theinfrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface and atmosphere.[6][7][8]
As the prime contractor,Astrium was responsible for the satellite's design, development and integration.[9] Design and construction began in early 2009.[10] As of January 2011, the total budget for the project was £500 million (€590 million/US$810 million).[10] A significant proportion of the project was manufactured in the UK, the main structure of the spacecraft was built byRUAG Space in Switzerland and subsequently completed in Astrium'sStevenage facility, while one of the instruments was made inSevenoaks bySSTL and another inBristol, Somerset by SEA Group Ltd, now part ofThales Alenia Space UK.[10]
The aims of the mission are to improve understanding of thecloud,radiative andaerosol processes that affect the Earth's climate.[11] The mission is providing a picture of the 3-dimensional spatial and the temporal structure of the radiative flux field at the top of the atmosphere, within the atmosphere and at the Earth's surface. The high-performance lidar andradar technology, plus the synergistic use of the differentremote sensing techniques on board EarthCARE, is delivering datasets allowing scientists to study the relationship of clouds, aerosols, and radiation at accuracy levels that will significantly improve our understanding of these highly-variable parameters. The mission is providing this information to improve predictions about the weather and future climate.[12]
The satellite is making measurements useful for a better understanding of theEarth's thermal and solar radiation balance. In particular, a combination of active (lidar and radar) and passive (radiometers and imagers) instruments enable EarthCARE to simultaneously measure the vertical and horizontal distribution of clouds andatmosphericaerosols along with top-of-atmosphere (TOA)long- and short-wavefluxes.
The spacecraft features four distinct instruments:[1]
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