The Spaceborne Wind Lidar Mission ADM-Aeolus

Measurements of winds throughout the atmosphere are crucial for both numerical weather prediction and for climate studies. Nevertheless, observations of height profiles of the global wind field are lacking. Thus the European Space Agency decided to establish a Doppler wind lidar mission named Atmospheric Dynamics Mission ADM-Aeolus. The mission will provide vertical profiles from ground up to the lower stratosphere of one component of the horizontal wind vector, which is perpendicular to the flight track. Pre-launch validation of the instrument with an airborne prototype was performed by DLR.