ADEOS 1, ADEOS 2 and PARASOL Satellites

The mission flew on board 3 satellites.
The 1st an 2nd POLDER instruments (Polarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances) flew on board Japanese satellites ADEOS 1 (1996) and ADEOS 2 (2002) which experienced serious technical problems putting an early end to their operation.
It's only in 2004 that the mission resumed with the launch of the French microsatellite PARASOL carrying the 3rd POLDER instrument. Il was then operated until 2013 (9 yearss), 5 years more than expected. The 3 POLDER instruments were designed by CNES and LOA (Laboratoire d'Optique Atmosphèrique, Lille University).

POLDER 1,2 and 3 Instruments

POLDER is a wide-field imaging radiometer that analyzes the intensity and direction of sun light reflected from the Earth and the atmosphere, as well as its polarization. It allows us to study the properties of clouds and aerosols and to learn more about how they affect the climate.
POLDER 1 & 2 channels wavelength: 443, 490, 565, 670, 763, 765, 865, 910 nm.
In addition to the first two instruments channels, POLDER 3 had a new channel with a wavelength of 1020 nm.