PARASOL (satellite)
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For other uses, see Parasol (disambiguation).
PARASOL is a French built Earth observing research satellite. It carries an instrument called POLDER which studies the radiative and microphysical properties of clouds and aerosols.
PARASOL was launched from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on on December 18, 2004 by an Ariane 5 G+. It will fly in formation in the "A Train" with several other satellites (Aqua, CALIPSO, CloudSat and Aura). These satellites, to be joined later by NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) in 2008, will for the first time ever combine a full suite of instruments for observing clouds and aerosols, from passive radiometers to active lidar and radar sounders.
