The instruments on CALIPSO are designed to examine the role of clouds and small atmospheric particles known as aerosols and their impact on Earth's radiation budget - the balance of solar energy reaching the Earth and lost to space that ultimately controls the temperature of the Earth.

Delivered one flight qualified, Beryllium Telescope to a Japanese customer Open Back, 1 meter diameter, Beryllium lightweight primary mirror Beryllium secondary and metering tower A system test performed to verify requirements

CALIPSO will employ innovative Light-Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) instrumentation to profile the vertical distribution of clouds and aerosols, while another instrument will simultaneously image the infrared (heat) emission of the atmosphere. During the daylight half of its orbit, CALIPSO will measure reflected sunlight the in an oxygen-absorption band and take images of the atmosphere with a wide-field camera. CALIPSO, together with the Earth Observing System satellites, will establish the scientific basis for understanding the dynamics and energetics of Earth's atmosphere in support of short-term weather and long-term climate forecasts.

"For the first time we will be able to construct the three dimensional structures of the atmosphere to better understand the role of clouds and aerosols in Earth's climate," said Dr. Ghassem Asrar, Associate Administrator for Earth Sciences, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.

For more information, please visit the CALIPSO web site.