The Atmosphere Observing System (AOS)

The Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) mission goal is to optimize how we examine links among tiny particles known as “aerosols”, clouds, atmospheric convection, and precipitation. AOS will deliver key data for improved forecasts of weather, air quality and climate. How? By providing unmatched insight into the vertical structure of our atmosphere with observations from space, our skies, and on the ground.
AOS will make the first-ever global measurements from space that reveal how ice and water move vertically within clouds. Not only that, it will reveal how such motion is tied to natural and human-made aerosols. Understanding how air rises and sinks will improve our knowledge of Earth’s storms, rain and snow produced by them, and the effects of weather on air quality.