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\t\t\t\t\t\t16\/01\/2025<\/span> With ESA\u2019s EarthCARE satellite and four measuring instruments all working extremely well and fully commissioned, the mission\u2019s \u2018first level\u2019 data stream is now freely available.<\/p>\n By combining data from all four instruments, scientists ultimately aim to address a critical Earth science question: how do clouds and aerosols affect the heating and cooling of our atmosphere?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Launched in May 2024, EarthCARE \u2013 a mission realised through a joint venture between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA \u2013 has the important job of measuring various aspects of our atmosphere to help us understand how clouds and aerosols reflect incoming solar energy back out to space and how they trap outgoing infrared energy.<\/p>\n To achieve this challenge, the satellite carries four instruments: a\u00a0cloud profiling radar, which was provided by JAXA, shows information on the vertical structure and internal dynamics of clouds, the\u00a0atmospheric lidar\u00a0delivers profiles of aerosols and thin clouds as well as cloud-top information, the\u00a0multispectral imager\u00a0offers a wide-scene overview in multiple wavelengths, and the\u00a0broadband radiometer\u00a0measures reflected solar radiation and outgoing infrared radiation coming from Earth.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Data from the instruments have, thus far, only been available to the ESA project teams and to validation teams that are assessing the instruments science performance. Nevertheless, even while the mission was going through its commissioning phase, it already impressed by offering a tantalising glimpse of what it would be capable of delivering once the mission becomes \u2018live\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ESA\u2019s EarthCARE Mission Manager, Bjoern Frommknecht, said, \u201cAnd that day has come! We are proud to announce that EarthCARE finished its commissioning phase towards the end of 2024, the instruments are performing excellently, and we are now starting to put the first level data stream, known as Level-1, online.<\/p>\n \u201cESA is responsible for these Level-1 from the atmospheric lidar, multispectral imager and the broadband radiometer. Our thanks go to JAXA for the Level-1 data from the cloud profiling radar.<\/p>\n \u201cPublic release of the second level processed data, Level-2, will follow, with release of the single instrument data anticipated in March and release of multiple instrument Level-2 products phased over the following months.\u201d<\/p>\n The new image featured above uses Level-1 data acquired on 9 January 2025 by EarthCARE\u2019s atmospheric lidar instrument to show the smoke layer from the current Los Angeles wildfire disaster, which is being carried over the Pacific Ocean by strong winds<\/p>\n Smoke is one type of aerosol. Aerosols are tiny solid or liquid particles suspended in Earth’s atmosphere. These particles can vary in colour, size, composition and origin.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n While it goes without saying that aerosols can affect the air we breathe, they play a significant role in Earth’s climate system, both \u2018directly\u2019 by reflecting and absorbing incoming solar radiation and trapping outgoing radiation, and \u2018indirectly\u2019 as they may act as nuclei for cloud formation \u2013 which is how they influence our climate the most.<\/p>\n ESA\u2019s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli, noted, \u201cI would like to send my congratulations to all those that have been involved in developing this remarkable Earth Explorer satellite over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not only the largest Earth Explorer mission we\u2019ve ever developed, but it\u2019s also the most complex. Anybody who wishes, can now start reaping the benefits of the years of work that have been put into this extraordinary satellite as the data is freely available with open access to all.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now look forward to seeing how using the data will result in new scientific findings about the changing atmosphere, particularly against the backdrop of the climate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n EarthCARE Level-1 data is available at the\u00a0ESA Online Data Dissemination\u00a0website. Users simply need to create an account to access the data freely.<\/p>\n Alternatively, a Level-1 data collection is available on the\u00a0ESA Earth Online website.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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