Atmospheric dynamics mission: Aeolus

The Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM-Aeolus) represents the second Earth Explorer core mission within ESA's 'Living Planet Programme'. Following launch in 2007 the spacecraft would be injected into a sun-synchronous, polar orbit and provide global observations of atmospheric wind profiles throughout the troposphere and the lower part of the stratosphere. Due to its excellent sampling capabilities, combined with a systematic processing and dissemination of key data products in near-real-time (i.e., within 3 hours after sensing) Aeolus would enable major advances in operational short- and medium-range weather forecast systems. The ALADIN payload on board Aeolus is a direct detection Doppler Lidar system, equipped with a pulse laser operating in the ultraviolet) and a dual-channel receiver system. The spectrometer assembly would allow independent recording of the Mie (aerosol) and Rayleigh (molecular) components of the atmospheric backscatter signal, covering an overall height range from ground up to approximately 25 km. The Aeolus mission concept foresees systematic processing and dissemination of various data products over the envisaged mission lifetime of three years. This includes both the generation and delivery of Level 1B data (calibrated Doppler wind observations) to meteorological service centers in near-real-time and the off-line distribution of higher level products, serving a variety of scientific applications