True to its promise, the European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellite is now being used to calculate directly how clouds and aerosols influence Earth’s energy balance – the all-important balance that regulates our climate. In doing so, EarthCARE is poised to sharpen the accuracy of climate models, the very tools that guide global climate policy and action.

With ESA’s EarthCARE satellite and four measuring instruments all working extremely well and fully commissioned, the mission’s ‘first level’ data stream is now freely available.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?

Launched in May 2024, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite is nearing the end of its commissioning phase with the release of its first data on clouds and aerosols expected early next year. In the meantime, an international team of scientists has found an innovative way of applying artificial intelligence to other satellite data to yield 3D profiles of clouds.This is particularly news for those eagerly awaiting data from EarthCARE in their quest to advance climate science.

Launched just six months ago and still in its commissioning phase, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite is already producing remarkable data from its four instruments, offering groundbreaking insights into clouds, aerosols, and Earth’s energy balance.Highlighting the importance to Earth system science and climate research, teams worldwide are out in force taking measurements to verify and enhance the accuracy of EarthCARE’s data.

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Before and after assimilating EarthCARE radar data

Assimilating EarthCARE into numerical weather prediction

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