ATLID, ESA atmospheric backscatter LIDAR for the ESA EarthCARE mission

The ATmospheric LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), ATLID, is part of the payload of the Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) mission, the sixth Earth Explorer Mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) Living Planet Programme ( http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/SP_1279_1_EarthCARE.pdf ). The EarthCARE payload consists of four instruments that will, in a synergetic manner, retrieve vertical profiles of clouds and aerosols, and the characteristics of the radiative and micro-physical properties, to determine flux gradients within the atmosphere and top of atmosphere radiance and flux. ATLID’s task is to provide vertical profiles of optically thin cloud and aerosol layers, as well as the altitude of cloud boundaries. With that purpose ATLID emits