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Landmark year ahead for Earth observation science missions

16 January 2009

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Earth Explorers are developed in direct response to the needs of the science community and cover a broad range of science issues to further our understanding of the Earth system. Earth Explorers focus on the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and Earth’s interior, with the overall emphasis on learning more about the interactions between these components and the influence human activity is having on natural Earth processes.

Credits: ESA

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GOCE går inn i bane

About 90 minutes after launch and almost one orbit around the Earth, the Rockot Breeze upper-stage is oriented to inject the GOCE spacecraft into orbit. This happens around 295 km above central Europe within range of the ground stations in Kiruna in northern Sweden and Svalbard north of Norway. At this point, the first confirmation that all is well with the satellite is expected.

GOCE is launched into a Sun-synchronous, near-circular orbit with an inclination of 96.7º.

Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab

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SMOS payload in the Large Space Simulator

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SMOS payload undergoing testing in the Large Space Simulator at ESA-ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. A 'solar beam', six metres in diameter, was repeatedly shone onto instrument. The instrument was also subjected to low temperatures of deep space. These tests simulated the different intensities of solar radiation the satellite will experience in orbit.

Credits: ESA

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CryoSat measures the freeboard of floating sea ice.

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CryoSat is able to measure the freeboard (the height protruding above the water) of floating sea ice with its sensitive altimeter. From the freeboard, the ice thickness can be estimated.

Credits: ESA /AOES Medialab

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These six candidate Earth Explorer Core missions have just completed assessment study and will be presented to the science community at a User Consultation Meeting in January 2009. Subsequently, up to three of the missions will be selected for the next stage of development (feasibility study), leading to the eventual launch of ESA's seventh Earth Explorer mission around 2016.

Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab