Canada's HAWC mission – Infographic

HAWC (High-altitude Aerosols, Water vapour and Clouds is a Canadian mission expected to help Canadians better anticipate and prepare for extreme weather events including storms, floods, droughts and poor air quality conditions. (Credit: Canadian Space Agency)

HAWC

High-altitude Aerosols, Water vapour and Clouds

HAWC is a Canadian mission expected to 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

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.