The CALIPSO mission, launched in April 2006, provides the first multiyear global view of the vertical structure of aerosols and clouds, crucial for understanding their role in the climate system. CALIPSO carries the CALIOP lidar, a nadir-viewing two-wavelength, polarization-sensitive lidar, along with two passive sensors: the WFC and the IIR. These instruments offer new capabilities to study the vertical distribution of aerosols and clouds, which are critical for quantifying their radiative forcing and cloud-climate feedbacks. The mission's data are being used to improve global climate models and to better understand the aerosol and cloud properties that influence Earth's energy budget. Key findings include the detection of aerosols located above clouds, the improved characterization of thin cirrus, and the assessment of cloud occurrence and properties. The CALIPSO mission is expected to make significant contributions in areas such as broadband radiative fluxes, data assimilation, ocean surface roughness retrieval, and air quality forecasting.The CALIPSO mission, launched in April 2006, provides the first multiyear global view of the vertical structure of aerosols and clouds, crucial for understanding their role in the climate system. CALIPSO carries the CALIOP lidar, a nadir-viewing two-wavelength, polarization-sensitive lidar, along with two passive sensors: the WFC and the IIR. These instruments offer new capabilities to study the vertical distribution of aerosols and clouds, which are critical for quantifying their radiative forcing and cloud-climate feedbacks. The mission's data are being used to improve global climate models and to better understand the aerosol and cloud properties that influence Earth's energy budget. Key findings include the detection of aerosols located above clouds, the improved characterization of thin cirrus, and the assessment of cloud occurrence and properties. The CALIPSO mission is expected to make significant contributions in areas such as broadband radiative fluxes, data assimilation, ocean surface roughness retrieval, and air quality forecasting.