WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.000
Intro music.

00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:14.000
Clouds. Whether brilliantly bright or dark and foreboding, clouds are an everyday sight that defies our understanding.

00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:17.000
We can easily see them with weather radars and satellites.

00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:23.000
But scientists are unsure how clouds produce rain or snow, and which ones will do so.

00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:29.000
NASA hopes to demystify the way clouds work with the launch of the new CloudSat and CALIPSO research satellites.

00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:34.000
CloudSat is designed to live up to its name by probing the internal structure of clouds.

00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:40.000
"We're all very familiar with what clouds look like from below, and even on the weather programs at night,

00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:47.000
we see the clouds from above. But until now, we haven't had the ability to actually look inside clouds

00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.000
and that's what CloudSat's going to do."

00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:55.000
Using advanced radar, CloudSat will make estimates like how much moisture is suspended inside clouds and how

00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.000
many clouds produce rain.

00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:01.000
Closely trailing CloudSat in space will be the CALIPSO satellite.

00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:07.000
CALIPSO's lidar scanner specializes in detecting wispy cloud layers and aerosols.

00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:13.000
Aerosols are tiny particles suspended in the air that greatly contribute to global pollution.

00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:23.000
"We're finding that air quality in a given region can be affected by an area far away because the pollution

00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:32.000
is transported. So CALIPSO will give us insight into how pollution is transported and once we know where the

00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.000
pollution is coming from, then we can try to correct it."

00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:47.000
Working together, CloudSat and CALIPSO form a complementary team to study clouds inside and out for the benefit of the Earth below.

00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:52.000