HAWC mission: Canada's contribution to the AOS mission led by NASA – Infographic

2022-10-18 - HAWC (High-altitude Aerosols, Water vapour and Clouds) is a Canadian mission on NASA's Atmosphere Observing System, a four-satellite constellation. It will support extreme weather prediction, climate modelling and disaster monitoring. (Credit: Canadian Space Agency)

HAWC

High-altitude Aerosols, Water vapour and Clouds

HAWC is a Canadian mission that is part of NASA's Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) mission. HAWC data will help Canadians better anticipate and prepare for extreme weather events including storms, floods, droughts and poor air quality conditions.

Two Canadian instruments on the Canadian HAWC satellite

ALI – Aerosol Limb Imager

Will measure mid-to-high-altitude aerosol particles.

SHOW – Spatial Heterodyne Observations of Water

Will measure water vapour in the upper reaches of the lower atmosphere. Water vapour is a powerful greenhouse gas.

Canadian instrument on a NASA satellite

TICFIRE – Thin Ice Clouds and Far InfraRed Emissions

Will measure water vapour and ice cloud properties. It will also measure the energy that the atmosphere radiates to space.