The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite, led by NASA Langley Research Center, provides new insight into the role that clouds and atmospheric aerosols (airborne particles) play in regulating Earth's weather, climate, and air quality.

CALIPSO combines an active lidar instrument with passive infrared and visible imagers to probe the vertical structure and properties of thin clouds and aerosols over the globe. CALIPSO launched on April 28, 2006 with the cloud profiling radar system on the CloudSat satellite.

CALIPSO's space-based lidar is very similar to the HSRL; therefore, researchers from both teams have found it beneficial to compare simultaneous, or coincident data from the two instruments. These comparisons are used to calibrate and validate CALIPSO measurements.

CALIPSO and it's launch and orbit partner, CloudSat, underwent an intensive calibration and validation campaign in September 2006 called CCVEX (CALIPSO CloudSat Validation Experiment). During CCVEX, NASA flew three aircraft: the NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center's ER-2, NASA's Langley Research Center's B-200, and a Learjet leased from Weather Modification, Inc. in support of the mission. With support crews and CALIPSO and CloudSat research teams, the planes headed to Robins Air Force Base, GA, for the validation experiment. All were outfitted with a suite of instruments similar to those on the satellites.

Additionally, the HSRL team has flown shorter validation missions in the southeastern Virginia region near NASA Langley Research Center.

Also, for more information about the CALIPSO Validation campaign, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/calipso/main/index.html.