# CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations)
*missions*

## Specifications
- **collection**: missions
- **operator**: nasa
- **current status**: ended
- **actual launch**: 2006-04-28
- **orbit type**: LEO sun-synchronous, 685 km, 98.2 deg inclination
- **tasking supported**: false
- **entity type**: mission
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-04
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: nasa
- **attributes**: {"collection":"missions","operator":"nasa","current_status":"ended","actual_launch":"2006-04-28","orbit_type":"LEO sun-synchronous, 685 km, 98.2 deg inclination","tasking_supported":false}

## Editorial
CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) was a joint NASA and CNES mission that operated in a 685 km sun-synchronous low Earth orbit at 98.2 degrees inclination. The primary instrument was CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization), a two-wavelength polarisation-sensitive lidar that profiled the vertical distribution of clouds and aerosols globally.[^eoportal-calipso][^nasa-calipso-science]

The satellite launched on 28 April 2006 and operated in formation with the A-Train constellation for much of its mission, enabling co-located measurements with other Earth-observing instruments. CALIPSO's vertically resolved aerosol and cloud observations supported research in climate, weather, and air quality science.[^nasa-calipso-science] Science operations concluded on 1 August 2023, following an official end-of-mission declaration.[^nasa-calipso-end] Over 17 years of operations, CALIPSO collected lidar profiles that underpinned a large body of peer-reviewed research on aerosol transport, cloud microphysics, and radiative forcing.[^eoportal-calipso]

## Compositional position
- CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) --[mission_payloads]--> caliop (products)
- CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) --[related-topic]--> air-quality (topics)
- cats-iss-deployment (missions) --[related]--> CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations)

## Sources
- [nasa-calipso-end] | Official End of CALIPSO Science Mission, NASA ASDC | https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/news/official-end-of-calipso-science-mission | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-04
- [eoportal-calipso] | CALIPSO mission profile, eoPortal | https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/calipso | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-04
- [nasa-calipso-science] | CALIPSO mission, NASA Science | https://science.nasa.gov/mission/calipso/ | tier=operator-engineering | accessed=2026-06-04

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/missions/calipso
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)