Assessing the accuracy of data being returned by completely new technology in space is a challenging task. But this is exactly what engineers and scientists have been dedicating their time to over the last months so that measurements of the world's winds being gathered by Aeolus can be fed confidently into weather forecast models.

Carrying breakthrough laser technology, the Aeolus satellite – an ESA Earth Explorer mission – was launched in August 2018.

Source: ESA

Image credit: ECMWF–M. Rennie - Strong wind over western Europe

Related Missions:

• Aeolus / formerly ADM (Atmospheric Dynamics Mission)
• Copernicus: Sentinel-3
• Copernicus: Sentinel-1