CLARREO Pathfinder on ISS

Climate Absolute Radiance & Refractivity Observatory

The Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) is a Tier 1 mission recommended by the NRC Decadal Survey 2007. The foundation of CLARREO is the ability to produce highly accurate climate records to test climate projections in order to improve models and enable sound policy decisions. The CLARREO mission accomplishes this critical objective through accurate SI-traceable decadal observations that are sensitive to many of the key climate parameters such as radiative forcings, climate responses, and feedbacks. Uncertainties in these parameters drives uncertainty in current climate model projections.

In 2016, the CLARREO project received funding for a Pathfinder mission to demonstrate essential measurement technologies required for the full mission. The appropriated funds potentially support the flight of two instruments, a Reflected Solar (RS) and an Infrared (IR) spectrometer, hosted on the International Space Station (ISS) in the 2020 time frame. The key features of the CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) mission are shown in Figure (a) location on the ISS, slotted on the ExPRESS logistics carrier (ELC-1), (b) CPF payload integrated with the ExPA.