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PCARF

The Planetary Cloud/Aerosol Research Facility (PCARF) investigates the formation, lifetime, and optical properties of planetary clouds and aerosols via the condensation and evaporation processes in a temperature- and pressure-controlled atmospheric gas environment.

About the Facility

The Planetary Cloud/Aerosol Research Facility (PCARF) is a chamber designed to study planetary aerosol and cloud formation processes in our solar system and exoplanets. It’s located in a 10-foot diameter vacuum chamber at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Clouds over the ocean taken from the space shuttle in 1982.
Credit: NASA

PCARF Instruments and Apparatus

Sunlit clouds over the Indian Ocean.
Sunlit clouds over the Indian Ocean.
  • Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer Spectrometer
  • Aerodynamic Particle Sizer
  • Particle Tracking Velocimeter
  • Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer
  • Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry
  • Fourier Transform Spectrometer for the Infrared

Education Outreach

PCARF values education at all levels, and we are here to help get your students excited about planetary cloud and aerosol science. Our fun and informative education pages are strategically crafted to appeal to a variety of ages and stages, from kindergarteners to high school seniors. Find the grade level you're looking for below, and check out what PCARF has to offer your students today!

Kindergarten-Grade 4

Age level: 5 to 10

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A group of children and adults crowd around a table.

Grades 5-8

Age level: 11 to 14

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Group of teenagers with thumbs up.

Grades 9-12

Age level: 15 to 18

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Planetary Cloud Stories

Article
5 Min Read

NASA’s CloudSat Ends Mission Peering Into the Heart of Clouds

Article
4 Min Read

First Long-Duration Lidar Satellite Mission CALIPSO Ends

5 Min Read

NASA Satellites Show How Clouds Respond to Arctic Sea Ice Change

Article
4 Min Read

Passing Clouds Cause Some Marine Animals to Make Mini-Migrations During the Day

Article
5 Min Read

Five Ways NASA Helps With Shark Conservation

Article

PCARF Workshop

The PCARF Workshop is designed for the Earth and planetary cloud and aerosol community to meet and discuss modeling techniques, NASA’s experimental facilities and technologies for remote/in-situ measurements.

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A mass of storm clouds was captured with an electronic still camera (ESC) from the International Space Station (ISS) by the Expedition 1 crew members. The picture was the first Earth observation still image downlinked by the three-man crew.

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