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CATS-ISS Level 2 Operational Night Mode 7.1 Version 3-01 5 km Profile

Published by NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Catalog Last Checked: June 25, 2026 at 02:02 PM | Dataset Last Updated: June 23, 2026
CATS-ISS_L2O_N-M7.1-V3-01_05kmPro is the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) International Space Station (ISS) Level 2 Operational Night Mode 7.1 Version 3-01 5 km Profile data product. This collection spans from February 12, 2015 to February 13, 2015. 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.

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Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel public
bureauCode 
[
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]
contactPoint 
{
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  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
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}
description CATS-ISS_L2O_N-M7.1-V3-01_05kmPro is the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) International Space Station (ISS) Level 2 Operational Night Mode 7.1 Version 3-01 5 km Profile data product. This collection spans from February 12, 2015 to February 13, 2015. 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 
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identifier 10.5067/ISS/CATS/L2O_N-M7.1-V3-01_05KMPRO
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 2026-06-23
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 2015-02-12/2015-03-18
theme 
[
  "Earth Science"
]
title CATS-ISS Level 2 Operational Night Mode 7.1 Version 3-01 5 km Profile

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