ADM-Aeolus

Role: Earth Observation
Launch date: 2010
Launch mass: ~1200&#160;kg
Orbit: sun synchronous dusk-dawn orbit
Altitude: 408&#160;km
Nominal duration: 3 years

ADM-Aeolus is an ESA satellite that is due for launch in 2010. ADM-Aeolus will be the first equipment capable of performing global wind-profile observation and will provide much-needed information to improve weather forecasting.

The Aeolus satellite is an integral part of the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM) that is planned by the European Space Agency (ESA) as the second Earth Explorer Core Mission. The central aim of this mission is to further the knowledge of the Earth's atmosphere and weather systems. By recording and monitoring the weather in different parts of the world, Aeolus will allow scientists to build complex models of our environment, which can then be used to help predict how that environment will behave in the future. These predictions will be useful in the short-term, since they can be applied to Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) in order to make forecasts more accurate. The mission will thus improve the knowledge of all sorts of weather phenomena, from global warming to the effects of pollution.

The wind profiles will be measured by the Aeolus payload, namely the Atmospheric Laser Doppler-Lidar Instrument (Aladin). This is a direct detection Lidar incorporating a fringe-imaging receiver (analysing aerosol and cloud backscatter) and a double-edge receiver (analysing molecular backscatter). The processing of the backscatter signals will produce line-of-sight wind profiles above thick clouds or down to the surface in clear air along the satellite track, every 200 km. Wind information in thin cloud or at the tops of thick clouds is also attainable. From the data processing, information on other elements like clouds and aerosols can also be extracted. The data will be disseminated to the main NWP-centres in near-real-time.

ADM-Aeolus is seen as a mission that will pave the way for future operational meteorological satellites dedicated to measuring the Earth's wind fields. The spacecraft is being built by EADS Astrium Ltd.