ADM-Aeolus

Atmospheric Dynamics Mission-Aeolus

Mission Profile

ADM-Aeolus (Atmospheric Dynamics Mission-Aeolus) is an ESA Earth Explorer mission launched on 22 August 2018 aboard a Vega rocket as part of the Living Planet Programme, designed to measure global wind profiles from the surface to 30 km altitude using ultraviolet Doppler wind lidar — a technology never before demonstrated from space. ALADIN, its single instrument, fires ultraviolet laser pulses into the atmosphere and detects Doppler-shifted backscatter from molecules and particles to measure wind speed profiles globally every 12 days. Aeolus wind data immediately improved global weather forecast accuracy by providing measurements of a previously unobserved variable, demonstrating that spaceborne wind lidar can fill a critical gap in the global observing system. The satellite performed a pioneering assisted reentry in July 2023, becoming the first ESA satellite to be controlled during its reentry to minimize debris risk.