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Sciences and Exploration Directorate
Past

Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS)

The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) was an attached payload for the International Space Station (ISS) that measured the location, composition and distribution of pollution, dust, smoke, aerosols and other particulates in the atmosphere. Designed to operate at least six months, CATS had a successful 33-month mission and ceased operations in October 2017.

Launch Date

January 2015

Class

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Websites


Key Staff

The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) was an attached payload for the International Space Station (ISS) that measured the location, composition and distribution of pollution, dust, smoke, aerosols and other particulates in the atmosphere. Designed to operate at least six months, CATS had a successful 33-month mission and ceased operations in October 2017.

Related Publications

2025. "Enhancing Surface PM2.5 Air Quality Estimates in GEOS Using CATS Lidar Data.", Earth and Space Science, 12 (5): [10.1029/2024ea004078] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Evaluation of ICESat-2 ATL09 Atmospheric Products Using CALIOP and MODIS Space-Based Observations.", Remote Sensing, 17 (3): 482 [10.3390/rs17030482] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Statistics of Smoke Sphericity and Optical Properties Using Spaceborne Lidar Measurements.", Remote Sensing, 17 (3): 409 [10.3390/rs17030409] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Big-Time SmallSat Concept: Resolving Variations of Aerosols, Clouds, and Boundary Layer Height.", Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 104 (11): 889-892 [10.1175/bams-d-21-0179.a] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Statistically Resolved Planetary Boundary Layer Height Diurnal Variability Using Spaceborne Lidar Data.", Remote Sensing, 16 (17): 3252 [10.3390/rs16173252] [Journal Article/Letter]