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The article discusses the Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite mission, which is a joint effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The mission aims to improve weather forecasts and climate projections by studying cloud, aerosol, and radiation processes. EarthCARE will use novel instruments to retrieve more accurate properties of clouds, aerosols, and precipitation, and provide in-orbit verification of their impact on radiative fluxes. The article also pays tribute to Dr. Tobias Wehr, the mission scientist who passed away in 2023 and played a crucial role in the development of EarthCARE. [Extracted from the article]

The Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) is a satellite mission implemented by the European Space Agency (ESA) in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to measure vertical profiles of aerosols, clouds, and precipitation properties together with radiative fluxes and derived heating rates. The data will be used in particular to evaluate the representation of clouds, aerosols, precipitation, and associated radiative fluxes in weather forecasting and climate models. The satellite embarks four instruments: the ATmospheric LIDar (ATLID), the Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR), the Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI), and the Broadband Radiometer (BBR). The science data acquired by the four satellite instruments are processed on ground. Calibrated instrument data – level 1 data products – and retrieved geophysical data products – level 2 data products – are produced in the ESA and JAXA ground segments. This paper provides an overview of the data processing chains of ESA and JAXA and explains the instrument level 1 data products and main aspects of the calibration algorithms. Furthermore, an overview of the level 2 data products, with references to the respective dedicated papers, is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]