Girolamo et al. (2026) The CALIGOLA Mission: An overview of the present status and the forthcoming steps

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology)
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-04-09
• Authors: Paolo Di Girolamo, Davide Dionisi, Noemi Franco, Marco Di Paolantonio, Donato Summa, Simone Lolli, Lucia Mona, Rosalia Santoleri, Simona Zoffoli, Francesco Tataranni, Sara Venafra, Tiziana Scopa, Francesco Longo, Raffaele Votta, Valentina Sacchieri, Francesco Coppola, Alessandro Perna, Alberto Cosentino, Yongxiang Hu, Chris A. Hostetler, Tyler Thorsen, John Smith, Michael J. Behrenfeld, Scott Braun, Bob Holz, Gerald “Jay” Mace, Hal Maring, Laura Lorenzoni, Stephen R. Hall, Charles R. Trepte
• DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/202636208003/pdf

Research Groups

• Italian Space Agency (ASI)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Short Summary

This paper describes CALIGOLA, a planned advanced multi-purpose space lidar mission conceived by ASI in partnership with NASA, aimed at characterizing the Ocean-Earth-Atmosphere system and its interactions by providing an unprecedented global dataset of geophysical parameters.

Objective

• To characterize the Ocean-Earth-Atmosphere system and its mutual interactions.
• To provide the international atmospheric and ocean science communities with an unprecedented dataset of geophysical parameters.
• To generate increasing scientific knowledge in atmospheric, aquatic, terrestrial, cryospheric, and hydrological sciences.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global scale observations of the Ocean-Land-Atmosphere system.
• Temporal Scale: Data collection expected over 3 to 5 years, following a launch in the 2030-2031 timeframe.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable (this paper describes a mission concept, not a study utilizing models).
• Data sources: Data will be collected by the CALIGOLA advanced multi-purpose space lidar mission.

Main Results

This paper describes a planned mission concept; therefore, no experimental results are presented.

Contributions

• Proposes a novel space lidar mission (CALIGOLA) designed for global observations of the Ocean-Land-Atmosphere system.
• Aims to provide an unprecedented dataset of geophysical parameters, enhancing scientific knowledge across various Earth sciences.
• Will collect data over a temporal period not currently covered by other space lidar missions, filling a critical observational gap.
• Fosters international collaboration between ASI and NASA on a significant Earth observation endeavor.

Funding

• Italian Space Agency (ASI)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Citation

@article{Girolamo2026CALIGOLA,
  author = {Girolamo, Paolo Di and Dionisi, Davide and Franco, Noemi and Paolantonio, Marco Di and Summa, Donato and Lolli, Simone and Mona, Lucia and Santoleri, Rosalia and Zoffoli, Simona and Tataranni, Francesco and Venafra, Sara and Scopa, Tiziana and Longo, Francesco and Votta, Raffaele and Sacchieri, Valentina and Coppola, Francesco and Perna, Alessandro and Cosentino, Alberto and Hu, Yongxiang and Hostetler, Chris A. and Thorsen, Tyler and Smith, John and Behrenfeld, Michael J. and Braun, Scott and Holz, Bob and Mace, Gerald “Jay” and Maring, Hal and Lorenzoni, Laura and Hall, Stephen R. and Trepte, Charles R.},
  title = {The CALIGOLA Mission: An overview of the present status and the forthcoming steps},
  journal = {Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology)},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1051/epjconf/202636208003/pdf},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202636208003/pdf}
}