A new Earth observation mission reached space today (May 28).
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with the Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer satellite, or EarthCARE for short, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California today at 6:20 p.m. EDT (2220 GMT or 3:20 a.m. California time).
It was the second launch of the day for SpaceX, which also sent a group of its Starlink Internet satellites into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida this morning.
The Falcon 9 first-stage booster carrying out this mission has already reached space seven times, according to a SpaceX mission statement. Among his previous missions were the launch of the Crew-7 Crew Dragon astronaut to the International Space Station, the CRS-29 cargo flight to the ISS, and two Starlink missions.
The booster successfully landed back at Vandenberg today, approximately eight minutes after launch. About 2.5 minutes later, the Falcon 9 upper stage deployed EarthCARE into orbit as planned.
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The Europe-Japan EarthCARE satellite deploys from the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on May 28, 2024. (Image: ESA/SpaceX)
EarthCARE is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The mission will “investigate the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting solar radiation back into space, as well as trapping infrared radiation emitted from the Earth’s surface,” according to ESA.
Learning about our planet’s solar radiation balance “is critical to addressing climate-related issues and is something that can only be done from space,” the ESA added.
The mission will operate in an orbit similar in altitude to that of the ISS (250 miles or 400 kilometers), but on a different plane: Instead of the more equatorially focused ISS, EarthCARE will fly in a sun-synchronous polar orbit that crosses the equator in the local early afternoon , when sunlight is strongest in the region.
The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rests on a landing pad shortly after the EarthCARE satellite was launched into orbit on May 28, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)
The mission will look down at cloud particles and aerosol molecules, or suspended particles in the atmosphere, to see how they interact with precipitation and how quickly they fall on our planet. EarthCARE will also “record the distribution of water droplets and ice crystals and how they are transported in clouds.”
“These essential data will improve the accuracy of models of both cloud development and their behavior, composition and interaction with aerosols, as well as improve future climate models and support numerical weather prediction,” ESA officials added.
The satellite carries four scientific instruments: an atmospheric lidar (pulsed laser) to study cloud tops and cloud and aerosol profiles; cloud profiling radar to learn about cloud movement, dynamics and structure; broadband radiometer for studying solar and infrared radiation; and multispectral imaging.
EarthCARE is expected to undergo a six-month commissioning period after launch, and its main mission is planned to last at least three years. It was previously expected to be launched atop a Russian rocket, but mission officials switched to SpaceX after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which severed most space partnerships with that nation.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 6:35 PM EDT on May 28 with news of a successful launch, rocket landing and satellite deployment.