University of Saskatchewan|Université de la Saskatchewan

Purpose

The Canadian federal government has announced that Canada will be a major international partner in the NASA Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) satellite mission through the contribution of a system of three innovative satellite instruments collectively called HAWC (High-altitude Aerosol, Water Vapour and Clouds). One of these three satellite instruments is called SHOW (Spatial Heterodyne Observations of Water). This project aims to develop a dedicated balloon-borne SHOW (Spatial Heterodyne Observations of Water) instrument and demonstrate the utility of this prototype for HAWC satellite mission validation with a test flight on a stratospheric balloon. This project will enable the training of several highly qualified personnel (HQP). SHOW as part of the HAWC Mission will advance understanding of how water vapour is evolving in response to climate change and the impact of that change on weather climate.