Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

CATS-ISS Level 1B Day Mode 7.2 Version 3-00

Published by NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Catalog Last Checked: June 23, 2026 at 09:07 PM | Dataset Last Updated: June 22, 2026
CATS-ISS_L1B_D-M7.2-V3-00 is the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) International Space Station (ISS) Level 1B Day Mode 7.2 Version 3-00 data product. This collection spans from March 25, 2015 to October 29, 2017. CATS, which was launched on January 10, 2015, was a lidar remote sensing instrument that provided range-resolved profile measurements of atmospheric aerosols and clouds from the ISS. CATS was intended to operate on-orbit for up to three years. CATS provides vertical profiles at three wavelengths, orbiting between ~230 and ~270 miles above the Earth's surface at a 51-degree inclination with nearly a three-day repeat cycle. For the first time, scientists were able to study diurnal (day-to-night) changes in cloud and aerosol effects from space by observing the same spot on Earth at different times each day. CATS Level 2 Layer data products contain geophysical parameters and are derived from Level 1 data, at 60m vertical and 5km horizontal resolution.

Resources

19 resources available

Find Related Datasets

Search by Tags

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel public
bureauCode 
[
  "026:00"
]
contactPoint 
{
  "fn": "Earthdata Forum",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:earthdata-support@nasa.gov"
}
description CATS-ISS_L1B_D-M7.2-V3-00 is the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) International Space Station (ISS) Level 1B Day Mode 7.2 Version 3-00 data product. This collection spans from March 25, 2015 to October 29, 2017. CATS, which was launched on January 10, 2015, was a lidar remote sensing instrument that provided range-resolved profile measurements of atmospheric aerosols and clouds from the ISS. CATS was intended to operate on-orbit for up to three years. CATS provides vertical profiles at three wavelengths, orbiting between ~230 and ~270 miles above the Earth's surface at a 51-degree inclination with nearly a three-day repeat cycle. For the first time, scientists were able to study diurnal (day-to-night) changes in cloud and aerosol effects from space by observing the same spot on Earth at different times each day. CATS Level 2 Layer data products contain geophysical parameters and are derived from Level 1 data, at 60m vertical and 5km horizontal resolution.
distribution 
[
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Original Metadata",
    "format": "ISO",
    "mediaType": "text/xml",
    "conformsTo": "http://www.isotc211.org/2005/gmi",
    "description": "The metadata's original source.",
    "downloadURL": "https://cmr.earthdata.nasa.gov/search/concepts/C3880592401-LARC_CLOUD.iso19115"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/citing-data"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/documents/cats/guide/CATS_ATBD.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/documents/cats/guide/CATS_Data_Products_Catalog_R6.0.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/documents/cats/guide/CATS_Data_Products_Catalog_R7.0.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/documents/cats/quality_summaries/CATS_Release_Notes6.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/documents/cats/quality_summaries/CATS_Release_Notes6_v2.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/project/CATS-ISS"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://cats.gsfc.nasa.gov/"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://cats.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/browse/"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "downloadURL": "https://cats.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/docs/CATS_Data_Products_Catalog.pdf"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://cmr.earthdata.nasa.gov/virtual-directory/collections/C3880592401-LARC_CLOUD"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "HTML",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "downloadURL": "https://doi.org/10.5067/ISS/CATS/L1B_D-M7.2-V3-00"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/84214/blue-marble-eastern-hemisphere"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/84400/dust-and-clouds-dance-over-the-sahara"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/86218/a-slice-of-cirrus"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/86286/nighttime-view-of-raung-volcanic-plume"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://search.earthdata.nasa.gov/search/granules?p=C3880592401-LARC_CLOUD"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "format": "BIN",
    "mediaType": "application/octet-stream",
    "downloadURL": "https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/data/instruments/cats"
  }
]
identifier 10.5067/ISS/CATS/L1B_D-M7.2-V3-00
keyword 
[
  "earth-science-aerosols-atmosphere",
  "earth-science-aerosols-atmosphere-aerosol-backscatter",
  "earth-science-aerosols-atmosphere-aerosol-optical-depth-thickness",
  "earth-science-clouds-atmosphere",
  "earth-science-clouds-atmosphere-cloud-properties"
]
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-06-22
programCode 
[
  "026:000"
]
publisher 
{
  "name": "NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
spatial 
"["CARTESIAN", [{"Boundary": {"Points": [{"Latitude": -52, "Longitude": -180}, {"Latitude": -52, "Longitude": 180}, {"Latitude": 52, "Longitude": 180}, {"Latitude": 52, "Longitude": -180}, {"Latitude": -52, "Longitude": -180}]}}]]"
temporal 2015-03-25/2017-10-29
theme 
[
  "Earth Science"
]
title CATS-ISS Level 1B Day Mode 7.2 Version 3-00

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov