ESA Cryosat-2
8th April 2010 saw the successful launch in Kazakhstan of the European Space Agency (ESA) sponsored CryoSat-2 satellite.
The original launch of the first version of the £100 million satellite ended in disaster, back in 2005 when the Russian launch rocket carrying it failed, and plunged into the Arctic Ocean.
CryoSat-2 will now sit in its polar orbit and send back data about how the ice caps are reacting to global change. The melting ice of the polar regions is considered a matter of great environmental concern, with future implications for ocean currents, sea levels, and the entire global climate.
This satellite is part of ESA's 'Living Planet Programme' which focuses attention not outwards to Space itself, but, instead seeks to look inwards to see what impact and effects human activity is having on natural planet Earth processes.
The original launch of the first version of the £100 million satellite ended in disaster, back in 2005 when the Russian launch rocket carrying it failed, and plunged into the Arctic Ocean.
CryoSat-2 will now sit in its polar orbit and send back data about how the ice caps are reacting to global change. The melting ice of the polar regions is considered a matter of great environmental concern, with future implications for ocean currents, sea levels, and the entire global climate.
This satellite is part of ESA's 'Living Planet Programme' which focuses attention not outwards to Space itself, but, instead seeks to look inwards to see what impact and effects human activity is having on natural planet Earth processes.
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