NASA’s CloudSat Ends Mission Peering Into the Heart of Clouds

An artist’s concept shows NASA’s CloudSat spacecraft in orbit above Earth. Launched in 2006, it provided the first global survey of cloud properties before being decommissioned in March 2024 at the end of its lifespan.

NASA/JPL

Over the course of nearly two decades, its powerful radar provided never-before-seen details of clouds and helped advance global weather and climate predictions.

CloudSat, a NASA mission that peered into hurricanes, tallied global snowfall rates...