The first wind data from ESA’s Aeolus satellite released Sept. 12 shows three quarters of one orbit. The image shows large-scale easterly and westerly winds between Earth’s surface and the lower stratosphere, including jet streams. As the satellite orbits from the Arctic towards the Antarctic, it senses, for example, strong westerly wind streams at mid latitudes (shown in blue). Closer to Antarctic, Aeolus senses strong westerly winds circling the Antarctic continent in the troposphere and stratosphere (shown in blue left of Antarctica and in red right of Antarctica.)

The first wind data captured by the European Space Agency’s Aeolus wind sensor show the sensor is working as designed, a huge relief for a program managers who struggled for more than a decade with the complex technology.

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Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She is a recipient...