The joint European-Japanese EarthCARE satellite has begun its mission to improve our understanding of Earth’s climate Tuesday, with a launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 3:20 PM Pacific Time (22:20 UTC).
The Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) is a joint project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the sixth Earth Explorer mission to be launched as part of ESA’s Living Planet Programme. The satellite, which has also been named Hakuryu — or White Dragon — by JAXA, carries four instruments that will study clouds and aerosols — fine particles and liquid droplets suspended in Earth’s atmosphere — and how these affect the planet’s climate.