ESA Portal - Ice-covered Baltic Sea proves ideal setting for final pre-launch CryoSat validation

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Ice-covered Baltic Sea proves ideal setting for final pre-launch CryoSat validation

18 April 2005

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Accurate sea-ice thickness measuring is laborous work. At the ridged ice region, scientists are using a hot water drill for mapping ice thickness. The thickness of the ice at this site in the Baltic Sea varied between 5 to 20 metres.

Credits: FIMR

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The research vessel Aranda was used as the base during the campaign in the Baltic. The EM-bird measurements were made from a helicopter. A typical flight lasted three hours.

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Scientists created a calibration line where detailed in-situ measurements of sea ice, and the thickness and properties of snow were made for the validation of airborne measurements.

Credits: FIMR

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Artist's impression of CryoSat.

The launch of the CryoSat spacecraft was unfortunately aborted on 8 October 2005 due to a malfunction of its Rockot launcher, which resulted in the total loss of the spacecraft.

At the latest meeting of the European Space Agency's Earth Observation Programme Board, which took place at ESA’s Headquarters in Paris on 23 and 24 February 2006, ESA received the green light from its Member States to build and launch a CryoSat recovery mission, CryoSat-2.

Credits: ESA/P.Carril