[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 79 (Friday, May 7, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CALIPSO SATELLITE MISSION

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                          HON. ELAINE G. LURIA

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 7, 2021

  Mrs. LURIA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the CALIPSO 
satellite mission upon the 15th anniversary of its space-based lidar 
measurements. CALIPSO's unique observations have revolutionized our 
knowledge of the vertical distributions of clouds and of layers of 
dust, smoke, and pollution. These findings have also greatly improved 
our understanding of how these vertical distributions affect climate, 
weather, and air quality. CALIPSO data are widely used by the 
international science community and academia, and this data has 
contributed to significant new findings by state and U.S. government 
agencies, including NASA, the NOAA, the DoD, the USDA, and the EPA.
  CALIPSO measurements are the foundation of over 3200 peer-reviewed 
publications that have appeared since the mission launched on April 28, 
2006--a tremendous accomplishment for a first-of-its-kind measurement 
system. Furthermore, CALIPSO discoveries now appear in textbooks for 
the next generation of climate scientists.
  NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, manages CALIPSO 
with operations accomplished through a strong and enduring partnership 
with the French Space Agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales 
(CNES). The mission's longevity and scientific success is a testament 
to international collaboration, especially when it is employed to solve 
global issues.
  NASA Langley is now looking forward to developing new instruments 
needed to improve our understanding of extreme weather events and 
regional climate change. The next generation spaceborne lidar, which 
has been identified for a new observing system, will build upon 
knowledge and experience gained from CALIPSO and will benefit from 
innovative technology developments now underway at NASA Langley.
  CALIPSO continues to be an on-going tribute to NASA's tremendous can-
do spirit and engineering excellence. While CALIPSO began its 
challenging mission with an expected lifetime of only 3 years, it has 
continued to deliver valuable measurements for 15 years. The longevity 
of the mission and the large number of scientific discoveries emerging 
from CALIPSO is a huge credit to the project and to the Agency.
  With these many accomplishments, it is my honor to recognize the 15th 
anniversary of CALIPSO's launch, and I wish the international mission 
team continued success in the future.

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