"NASA's CALIPSO Satellite Retires After 17 Years of Cloud Observations"
NASA's CALIPSO lidar satellite mission, a joint effort with the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), has come to an end after 17 years due to fuel exhaustion and a decaying orbit. CALIPSO used an active lidar instrument to probe the vertical structure and properties of thin clouds and aerosols in Earth's atmosphere, providing scientists with unique 3D perspectives. The mission's observations were crucial in detecting volcanic ash plumes and directing commercial aviators to avoid flying into them.