Objectives and Applications
3-year nominal mission life, currently in extended operations. Measurements of aerosol and cloud properties for climate predictions, using a 3 channel lidar and passive instruments in formation with CloudSat for coincident observations of radiative fluxes and atmospheric state.
Full Name
Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations
Mission Status
Mission complete
Mission Agencies
Launch Date
28 Apr 2006
Mission Links
EOL Date
31 Jul 2023
Orbit Type
Sun-synchronous
Orbit Period
98.3 minutes
Orbit Sense
Ascending
Orbit Inclination
98.2 deg
Orbit Altitude
685 km
Orbit Longitude
NORAD Catalog #
International Designator
CALIOP - Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization |
| IIR - Imaging Infrared Radiometer |
| WFC - Wide Field Camera |
| Category | Parameter | Instrument(s) |
| Atmosphere | Aerosols | CALIOP |
| Cloud type, amount and cloud top temperature | CALIOP, IIR, WFC |
| Cloud particle properties and profile | CALIOP |
| Atmospheric Temperature Fields | CALIOP |