The EarthCARE satellite has successfully lifted off, aiming to provide crucial information on the complex interactions between clouds, aerosols and radiation in the Earth’s atmosphere.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite embarked on its journey into space onboard a Space X Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California just after midnight (CEST) on 29 May.

Ten minutes after launch, the satellite separated from the rocket, with the Hartebeesthoek ground station in South Africa receiving the all-important signal indicating that EarthCARE was safely in orbit around Earth.

EarthCARE has been designed to examine the role clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back out to space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface.

Although clouds play an extremely important role in atmospheric heating and cooling, they remain one of the biggest mysteries in our understanding of...