Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

World’s first wind-mapping satellite set to launch

Data from the European Space Agency’s long-awaited Aeolus mission will address one of the biggest gaps in the global forecasting system.
  1. Alexandra Witze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

A satellite that will be the first to comprehensively monitor wind around the globe is finally ready to fly. After nearly two decades in the planning, the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Aeolus mission is slated to launch from Kourou, French Guiana, on 22 August. Meteorologists think that its data will significantly improve weather forecasts, because the lack of detailed wind measurements is one of the biggest gaps in the global Earth-observing system1.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 560, 420-421 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05976-3

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 20 August 2018: An earlier version of this story’s graphic erroneously said that Aeolus would map winds in 3D.

  • Update 22 August 2018: This story has been updated to note that Aeolus is now scheduled to launch on 22 August.

References

  1. Baker, W. E. et al. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 95, 543-564 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Stoffelen, A. et al. Bull. Am. Met. Soc. 86, 73-87 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Horányi, A., Cardinali, C., Rennie, M. & Isaksen, L. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 141, 1223-1232 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Magnusson, L. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 143, 2129-2142 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links