The European Space Agency (ESA)’s Earth Explorer Aeolus was launched in August 2018 carrying the world’s first spaceborne wind lidar, the Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument (ALADIN). ALADIN uses a high spectral resolution Doppler wind lidar operating at an ultraviolet wavelength of 355 nm to measure profiles of line-of-sight wind component. ALADIN samples the atmosphere from 30 km altitude down to the Earth’s surface or to the level where the signal is attenuated by optically thick clouds. Bes