| Issue |
EPJ Web Conf.
Volume 362, 2026
31st International Laser Radar Conference (ILRC 31) Held Together with the 22nd Coherent Laser Radar Conference (CLRC 22)
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 11006 | |
| Number of page(s) | 4 | |
| Section | Joint CLRC/ILRC Session: Airborne and Spaceborne Wind Lidar Missions (Aeolus etc.) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202636211006 | |
| Published online | 09 April 2026 | |
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202636211006
Challenges and achievements of the first wind lidar in space on ESA's Aeolus mission
(a) Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
(b) DLR, ECMWF, KNMI, Météo-France, TROPOS, DoRIT, ABB, s&t, serco, OLA, Physics Solutions, IB Reissig, Les Myriades with support from ESA-ESTEC and ESA-ESRIN This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published online: 9 April 2026
Abstract
Soon after its launch in August 2018, the spaceborne wind lidar onboard ESA's Aeolus satellite provided atmospheric wind profiles on a global scale. Being the first ever Doppler Wind Lidar (DWL) instrument in space, the Aeolus mission contributed to the improvement in numerical weather prediction (NWP) until the end of its operational phase on 30 April 2023. Following an instrument test period until 5 July 2023, where a new record in ultraviolet (UV) laser energy of 182 mJ over 33 h was achieved, the Aeolus satellite re-entered into the atmosphere on 28 July 2023. The focus of the presentation will be on the instrument performance and the evolution of the quality of the wind observations including the contributors to the random and systematic wind errors. The important role of the Aeolus Data Innovation and Science Cluster (DISC) in the operational phase of the Aeolus mission will be discussed.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2026
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