ESA title

The mission

ESA’s Earth Explorer CryoSat mission is dedicated to measuring the thickness of polar sea ice and monitoring changes in the ice sheets that blanket Greenland and Antarctica. Its main payload is a SAR Interferometric Radar Altimeter, which is designed for ice, measuring changes at the margins of vast ice sheets and floating ice in polar oceans.

The launch

  • Date: 08 April 2010
  • Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
  • Rocket: Russian/Ukrainian Dnepr based on SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile
CryoSat
Thinning ice
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Antarctica’s ice loss on the rise

11/12/2013 11667 views 106 likes
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Measuring the storm surge
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CryoSat measures European storm surge

09/12/2013 7177 views 68 likes
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New dimensions on ice

11/09/2013 22813 views 68 likes
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Site of crater
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CryoSat maps largest-ever flood beneath Antarctica

02/07/2013 14494 views 117 likes
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SMOS tracks Hurricane Igor
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ESA’s Earth satellites are stars

21/06/2013 6914 views 34 likes
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CryoSat reveals major loss of Arctic sea ice

13/02/2013 13182 views 44 likes
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Altimeter reading over Cuba
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CryoSat hits land

21/12/2012 12648 views 35 likes
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ESA satellites looking deeper into sea ice

05/10/2012 3773 views 0 likes
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Radar altimetry gains altitude in Venice

24/09/2012 2978 views 3 likes
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Watch the altimetry symposium live from Venice

21/09/2012 1354 views 1 likes
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Mean sea level trends
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Call for Media: new data on global sea level changes

19/09/2012 2225 views 0 likes
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Mapping the ocean floor
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CryoSat goes to sea

28/05/2012 7370 views 8 likes
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CryoSat: past, present and future

15/05/2012 1101 views 1 likes
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ESA's ice mission
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Latest CryoSat result revealed

24/04/2012 5845 views 7 likes
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Call for Media: CryoSat’s first map of changes in sea-ice t…

18/04/2012 1283 views 0 likes
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Arctic sea ice from the NASA P-3
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ESA and NASA join forces to measure Arctic sea ice

04/04/2012 2591 views 3 likes
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Camping on blue ice
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Checking CryoSat reveals rising Antarctic blue ice

29/03/2012 2551 views 3 likes
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CryoSat breaks the ice with ocean currents

06/02/2012 2743 views 4 likes
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Tracking CryoSat
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Ice data at your fingertips

04/01/2012 1962 views 1 likes
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Wind speed from CryoSat
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CryoSat ice satellite rides new waves

22/12/2011 2186 views 0 likes
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Skidoo and corner reflector
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Antarctic expedition checks CryoSat down-under

09/12/2011 2163 views 2 likes
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CryoSat rocking and rolling

17/10/2011 1511 views 0 likes
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‘Roots2Share’ opening
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Greenland and the Netherlands look to CryoSat for answers o…

17/10/2011 1155 views 0 likes
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Envisat image of the Arctic
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Arctic ice nears record low

14/09/2011 2861 views 1 likes
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Arctic sea-ice thickness
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New ice thickness map of the Arctic unveiled

21/06/2011 8358 views 6 likes
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HRH The Prince of Orange visits Greenland
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CryoSat Greenland camp receives royal guest

11/05/2011 1533 views 0 likes
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NASA aerial view of site
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ESA–NASA collaboration furthers sea-ice research

19/04/2011 2112 views 1 likes
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ESA Arctic ice campaign takes off

08/04/2011 1173 views 0 likes
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CryoSat detects leads in sea ice
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CryoSat ice data now open to all

01/02/2011 4279 views 5 likes
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Mean dynamic topography of global ocean
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ESA missions highlighted at world's largest scientific conf…

17/12/2010 2079 views 1 likes
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Handing over the 'keys' to CryoSat
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ESA's ice mission goes live

22/11/2010 1794 views 1 likes
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ESA's ice mission
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CryoSat ice mission gets clean bill of health

26/10/2010 1389 views 0 likes
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CryoSat-2
Enabling & Support

Experimental MEMS sensor passes in-orbit test on CryoSat-2

26/10/2010 2215 views 1 likes
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Profile of Greenland ice sheet
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Scientists receive first CryoSat-2 data

20/07/2010 2429 views 1 likes
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New view of ice thickness in Antarctica
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CryoSat-2 exceeding expectations

01/07/2010 2319 views 0 likes
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IPY Oslo Science Conference held in Norway
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Polar scientists herald importance of satellite observations

15/06/2010 2639 views 2 likes
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NASA DC-8 underflies CryoSat-2
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ESA's CryoSat-2 and NASA's DC-8 star in Arctic cooperation

23/04/2010 1913 views 0 likes
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ESA's ice mission delivers first data

13/04/2010 2019 views 1 likes
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Enabling & Support

Webcast: Climate science featured at CryoSat-2 launch event

09/04/2010 957 views 1 likes
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Liftoff of ESA's CryoSat-2
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Successful launch for ESA’s CryoSat-2 ice satellite

08/04/2010 2958 views 0 likes
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PP Emanuelli
Enabling & Support

ESOC confirms CryoSat-2 GO for launch

08/04/2010 829 views 0 likes
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Mission controllers, scientists, engineers at CryoSat-2 pre-launch briefing
Enabling & Support

CryoSat: final briefing confirms ESA ready to go

07/04/2010 614 views 0 likes
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CryoSat-2 ready for launch

07/04/2010 1109 views 0 likes
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ESOC Main Control Room (MCR)
Enabling & Support

CryoSat-2 launch timeline

06/04/2010 2669 views 2 likes
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CryoSat-2 installed in launch silo

01/04/2010 1261 views 0 likes
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CryoSat's 'roof'
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Invitation to the press for CryoSat-2 launch

29/03/2010 1297 views 0 likes
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New launch date for CryoSat-2 confirmed

19/03/2010 1966 views 0 likes
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CryoSat launch delayed

19/02/2010 1675 views 0 likes
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ESA - Euronews Space Magazine CryoSat-2 – ESA's ice mission

19/02/2010 643 views 0 likes
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CryoSat to observe Earth’s ice cover

15/02/2010 1061 views 0 likes
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