World’s First Satellite To Map Earth’s Winds

On Wednesday, the world saw Europe launch a rocket from French Guyana, which put a satellite into orbit as part of what company Arianespace called ‘the world’s first space mission to map the Earth’s wind on a global scale’. The satellite named Aeolus, will be placed at an altitude of 320km above the earth. The idea is to track environmental damage and aid disaster relief operations. What kind of information will we be able to determine from Aeolus, and what does it mean for the Earth’s future? We spoke to Dr. Andrew McGrath, a co-director of Airborne Research Australia to answer our questions.