PARASOL (Polarization & Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar) was a
French-built
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
observing research
satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
. It carried an instrument called
POLDER
A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are:
# Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...
, which studied the radiative and microphysical properties of
clouds
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may c ...
and
aerosols
An aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be generated from natural or human causes. The term ''aerosol'' commonly refers to the mixture of particulates in air, and not to t ...
.
PARASOL was launched from the French
spaceport
A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport''—and even more so ''cosmodrome''—has traditionally referred to sites capable of ...
in
Kourou,
French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
on December 18, 2004, by an
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana. It was used to deliver payloads into geostationar ...
G+.
It flew in formation in the "
A Train" constellation with several other satellites (
Aqua,
CALIPSO,
CloudSat and
Aura). These satellites had, for the first time ever, combined a full suite of instruments for observing clouds and aerosols, from passive
radiometer
A radiometer or roentgenometer is a device for measuring the radiant flux (power) of electromagnetic radiation. Generally, a radiometer is an infrared radiation detector or an ultraviolet detector. Microwave radiometers operate in the micro ...
s to active
lidar
Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...
and
radar
Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
sounders.
On 2 December 2009, PARASOL was manoeuvred out of the A-Train, dropping some 4 km below the other satellites by early January 2010.
The satellite's mission was formally ended exactly 9 years after launch on December 18, 2013.
PARASOL eoPortal Directory
accessed 14 June 2016
External links
PARASOL site
References
Earth observation satellites of France
Spacecraft launched in 2004
Spacecraft launched by Ariane rockets
CNES
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