NASA Develops CloudCube, Compact Multi-Frequency Radar for Cloud and Precipitation Research
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed CloudCube, a miniaturized radar instrument that simultaneously transmits three radar signals (Ka-, W-, and G-band) to study cloud systems and precipitation. The instrument is notable for being the first compact, space-capable system to use G-band radar signals, which have never been collected from orbit before. This technology could enable more cost-efficient Earth-observing missions and improve weather forecasting and climate modeling.
CloudCube is a compact, multifrequency radar system developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that uses three simultaneous radar signals spanning 36 to 240 GHz to observe different aspects of cloud physics. Ka-band signals measure precipitation profiles, W-band signals detect cloud particles that produce precipitation, and G-band signals—a space-based first—measure ice and liquid water content in light clouds. The instrument achieves this capability through innovations in millimeter-wave hardware and efficient power generation, using frequency-multiplication devices to produce hundreds of milliWatts at 240 GHz from a compact, low-power platform. CloudCube was funded by NASA's Earth Science Technology Office Instrument Incubator Program and has been field-tested, including an 11-month continuous operation during the Department of Energy's Cloud and Precipitation Experiment at Kennaook (CAPE-K). By combining data from all three frequencies simultaneously, researchers can study cloud initiation, evolution, and microphysical properties in ways previously impossible, with applications for improving weather forecasts and climate models.
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- NASACenter
NASA’s CloudCube Pioneers Miniaturized Radar to Study Clouds, Precipitation
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