Earth ID: 11690

CATS In Space

Story by James Urton | Visualizations by Walt Feimer Released on December 11, 2014

Earth's atmosphere may look empty, but it's actually chock-full of aerosols—tiny airborne particles such as dust, smoke and ash that seed clouds. Like clouds, these particles reflect and absorb sunlight, playing an important role in the cooling and warming of the planet. Now, with the help of a new instrument being launched this month to the International Space Station, scientists can better explore the properties of clouds and aerosols from space. The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) is a refrigerator-sized probe that will bounce lasers into the atmosphere, collecting data on the location and composition of clouds and aerosols around the globe. The results will provide the closest look yet at how clouds form, sharpening computer models that use such information to project how cloud patterns may influence Earth's weather and climate. Watch the video for an animation that shows CATS scanning the atmosphere from orbit.

Story Credits

Lead Visualizer/Animator:
Walt Feimer (HTSI)

Visualizers/Animators:
Andrew Young (ARTS)
Brian Monroe (USRA)
Michael Lentz (USRA)

Producer:
Rich Melnick (HTSI)

Lead Scientists:
Matthew McGill (NASA/GSFC)
John E. Yorks (SSAI)

Lead Writer:
James Urton (USRA)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11690

Keywords:
NASA Science >> Earth
SVS >> App