Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The islands of Aeolia, the home of Aeolus, keeper of the winds in Greek mythology, were a fitting location to explore the legacy of the European Space Agency’s trailblazing wind satellite, and the future of spaceborne Doppler wind lidars.
Aeolus was a remarkable achievement. Its ALADIN instrument used innovative laser technology and the Doppler effect to measure vertical profiles of Earth’s winds on a global scale for the very first time from space.
At the Aeolus science conference in Lipari, April 2026, we discovered the history of this pioneering feat - and how the hard work developing Aeolus has helped the development of current instruments such as EarthCARE’s atmospheric lidar (ATLID) and paved the way for the future operational EPS Aeolus/Aeolus-2 mission – a joint endeavour between ESA and EUMETSAT.
Credits: European Space Agency (ESA)
Access the video on the ESA video library: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2026/04/Aeolus_comes_home_to_forge_a_lasting_lidar_legacy
Our main YouTube channel: youtube.com/@EuropeanSpaceAgency
We are Europe's gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Copyright information about our videos is available here: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_Conditions
The islands of Aeolia, the home of Aeolus, keeper of the winds in Greek mythology, were a fitting location to explore the legacy of the European Space Agency’s trailblazing wind satellite, and the future of spaceborne Doppler wind lidars.
Aeolus was a remarkable achievement. Its ALADIN instrument used innovative laser technology and the Doppler effect to measure vertical profiles of Earth’s winds on a global scale for the very first time from space.
At the Aeolus science conference in Lipari, April 2026, we discovered the history of this pioneering feat - and how the hard work developing Aeolus has helped the development of current instruments such as EarthCARE’s atmospheric lidar (ATLID) and paved the way for the future operational EPS Aeolus/Aeolus-2 mission – a joint endeavour between ESA and EUMETSAT.
Credits: European Space Agency (ESA)
Access the video on the ESA video library: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2026/04/Aeolus_comes_home_to_forge_a_lasting_lidar_legacy
Our main YouTube channel: youtube.com/@EuropeanSpaceAgency
We are Europe's gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Copyright information about our videos is available here: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_Conditions
