JAXA signs Implementing Arrangement (IA) with DLR, concerning the cooperation in the field of Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE)

JAXA and Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR) signed the Implementing Arrangement (IA), concerning the cooperation in the field of Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) at the German Embassy in Japan on 24th July 2024. Prof. Kaysser-Pyzalla Anke, Chair of the DLR Executive Board, introduced this JAXA-DPR cooperation.

The scope of the IA is the cooperative activities for mutual validation of the EarthCARE data and sharing results of validation, to improve the accuracy of EarthCARE data. JAXA aims to provide EarthCARE data with guaranteed quality and reliability through validation activities. DLR research aircraft HALO (High Altitude and Long Range Aircraft） has similar instruments to those used on EarthCARE, with higher resolution. Airborne measurements provide a unique opportunity to perform underpasses beneath the satellite track, and it will be significantly effective to validate the EarthCARE data.

PERCUSION (Persistent EarthCare underflight studies of the ITCZ and organized convection) by the HALO is planned during August – November 2024, and such airborne data by the HALO will validate EarthCARE data. Through this collaboration, JAXA and DLR will improve the accuracy of EarthCARE data.