Earth Science

Cloudsat

981 tracked publications and 28,733 citations from 2006–2026. Launched 2006. Life-cycle cost: $359M in 2025 dollars. Active Mission Window May 1, 2006 to January 1, 2024: 834 publications, 51 top-10% credit.

Orbiter · h-index 78 · 49 papers with 100+ citations · prime mission ended 2008

Lifetime

Scope Papers published from the first full month after science operations begin through 2 years after the mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. Methods Papers published from the first full month after science operations begin through 2 years after the prime mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. Methods Every tracked publication to date, with every citation to date. Methods

Key measures

Active Mission Window · papers May 1, 2006 to January 1, 2024
Tracked publicationsTracked publications: peer-reviewed research papers we found for the mission. The list may not be complete. Methods834
CitationsCitations received by the tracked publications in the selected scope. The two windowed scopes count each paper’s citations only within its citation window. Methods8,471
Mean citations per publicationMean citations: total citations divided by tracked publications in the selected scope. One blockbuster paper can lift it. Methods10
Median citations per publicationMedian citations: the middle paper’s citation count in the selected scope; half the papers have more, half fewer. A single blockbuster sways it less than the mean. Methods7
Uncited publicationsUncited publications: papers with no citations in the selected scope. Methods42 (5.0%)
Top-10% creditTop 10%: among the 10% most-cited papers from this division’s missions, ranked against papers published around the same time. A paper naming several missions is split evenly among the missions in this division that claim it, so counts can be fractional. Methods51 · 1.3% of division
Top-1% creditTop 1%: among the 1% most-cited papers from this division’s missions within the selected window. Not adjusted for publication year. A paper naming several missions is split evenly among the missions in this division that claim it, so counts can be fractional. Methods3.3 · 0.87% of division
Lifetime indices · every tracked publication to date, in any scope
h-indexh-index: the largest h such that h papers have at least h citations each. It only grows with time, so older missions score higher. Methods78
g-indexg-index: the largest g for which the g most-cited papers together hold at least g² citations. Like the h-index, but it lets the most-cited papers count for more. Methods127
m-index, as of October 4, 2026m-index: a mission’s h-index divided by the years since its first peer-reviewed paper. It falls every 1 January even when nothing else changes, so it belongs to the date shown; it also discounts the long operating life that larger missions paid for. Methods3.7
toritori (total research impact, from ADS): for every paper citing one of the mission’s papers, 1 divided by the citing paper’s reference count times the cited paper’s author count, summed, with self-citations removed. It favors citations from papers with short reference lists and from outside the mission’s own authors. Computed over the tracked citation graph, which can be slightly incomplete. Methods130
riqriq (research impact quotient): 1,000 times the square root of tori, divided by the years since the mission’s first paper. A rate, not a total, so it does not keep growing with age the way the h-index and tori do. Methods542

Tracked publications

  1. The CALIPSO Mission

    Winker, D. M., 2010, BAMS

    869 citations

  2. CloudSat mission: Performance and early science after the first year of operation

    Stephens, Graeme L., 2008, JGRD

    586 citations

  3. Dreary state of precipitation in global models

    Stephens, Graeme L., 2010, JGRD

    574 citations

  4. Hydrometeor Detection Using Cloudsat—An Earth-Orbiting 94-GHz Cloud Radar

    Marchand, Roger, 2008, JAtOT

    435 citations

  5. Global distribution of cirrus clouds from CloudSat/Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) measurements

    Sassen, Kenneth, 2008, JGRD

    402 citations

  6. Surface Irradiances of Edition 4.0 Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) Data Product

    Kato, Seiji, 2018, JCli

    383 citations

  7. A description of hydrometeor layer occurrence statistics derived from the first year of merged Cloudsat and CALIPSO data

    Mace, Gerald G., 2009, JGRD

    367 citations

  8. Combined CloudSat-CALIPSO-MODIS retrievals of the properties of ice clouds

    Delanoë, Julien, 2010, JGRD

    320 citations

  9. Cloud ice: A climate model challenge with signs and expectations of progress

    Waliser, Duane E., 2009, JGRD

    316 citations

  10. Frequency of occurrence of rain from liquid-, mixed-, and ice-phase clouds derived from A-Train satellite retrievals

    Mülmenstädt, Johannes, 2015, GeoRL

    290 citations

  11. CloudSat's Cloud Profiling Radar After Two Years in Orbit: Performance, Calibration, and Processing

    Tanelli, Simone, 2008, ITGRS

    289 citations

  12. Rainfall retrieval over the ocean with spaceborne W-band radar

    Haynes, John M., 2009, JGRD

    289 citations

  13. Retrieval of ice cloud microphysical parameters using the CloudSat millimeter-wave radar and temperature

    Austin, Richard T., 2009, JGRD

    269 citations

  14. The role of cloud phase in Earth's radiation budget

    Matus, Alexander V., 2017, JGRD

    265 citations

  15. Classifying clouds around the globe with the CloudSat radar: 1-year of results

    Sassen, Kenneth, 2008, GeoRL

    262 citations

  16. Improvements of top-of-atmosphere and surface irradiance computations with CALIPSO-, CloudSat-, and MODIS-derived cloud and aerosol properties

    Kato, Seiji, 2011, JGRD

    222 citations

  17. The CloudSat radar-lidar geometrical profile product (RL-GeoProf): Updates, improvements, and selected results

    Mace, Gerald G., 2014, JGRD

    197 citations

  18. CloudSat and CALIPSO within the A-Train: Ten Years of Actively Observing the Earth System

    Stephens, Graeme, 2018, BAMS

    194 citations

  19. Global hydrometeor occurrence as observed by CloudSat: Initial observations from summer 2006

    Mace, Gerald G., 2007, GeoRL

    163 citations

  20. Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment validation for cirrus cloud profiling retrieval using CloudSat radar and CALIPSO lidar

    Deng, Min, 2010, JGRD

    159 citations

How we found these papers

We searched NASA’s Astrophysics Data System (ADS) for peer-reviewed articles naming Cloudsat in the title, abstract or keywords; standard filters drop articles that are not peer-reviewed and magazine pieces. SciX is ADS’s current interface.

(=abs:"CloudSat") AND property:refereed AND doctype:article AND pubdate:[2006-05 TO 2040-01] AND NOT bibstem:("A&R" OR "AIASJ" OR "AeAm" OR "AirSp" OR "AsNow" OR "AsUAI" OR "AvWST" OR "C&E" OR "C&T" OR "CAPJ" OR "E&S" OR "ENews" OR "IrAJ" OR "JCos" OR "JRASC" OR "LAstr" OR "MNSSA" OR "Met" OR "NewSc" OR "Orion" OR "PhT" OR "PhTea" OR "PhuZ" OR "PhyOJ" OR "PhyW" OR "PlR" OR "SciAm" OR "SpFl" OR "ZemVs")

Open in SciX

Removed after review (5)

  1. PARASOL in-flight calibration and performance In-flight calibration of the PARASOL instrument; names CloudSat only as an A-Train neighbour. Decision 🤖
  2. Global precipitation measurements for validating climate models Review of precipitation data sets; CloudSat appears only inside a validation-campaign name. Decision 🤖
  3. Characterization Of Surface Clutter Signal In The Presence Of Orography For A Spaceborne Conically Scanning W-Band Doppler Radar Clutter simulator for the proposed WIVERN radar; mentions CloudSat only in passing. Decision 🤖
  4. A Method for Assessing Relative Skill in Retrieving Cloud and Precipitation Properties in Next-Generation Cloud Radar and Radiometer Orbiting Observatories Design trade study for a proposed cloud observatory; uses no CloudSat data. Decision 🤖
  5. Improved hydrometeor detection near the Earth's surface by a conically scanning spaceborne W-band radar Concept study of the proposed WIVERN radar; names CloudSat only for comparison. Decision 🤖