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The mission

ESA's Earth Explorer GOCE mission was dedicated to map Earth's gravity with unrivalled precision and provided the most accurate model of the 'geoid' ever produced to further our understanding of how Earth works. After more than four years in orbit, the mission came to a natural end on 11 November 2013, but the wealth of data from GOCE continues to be exploited to improve our understanding of ocean circulation, sea level, ice dynamics, Earth’s interior and climate change.


The launch

  • Date: 17 March 2009

  • Site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia

  • Launcher: Rockot


GOCE.png
1st Earth Explorer
1-2 cm geoid accuracy
260 km altitude

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[ Space Engineering & Technology ]
Inside GOCE
ARCHIVE CONTENT: 26 FEB. 2009

Building ESA's gravity mapping mission posed hi-tech challenge

While ESA's Earth Explorers have been conceived as scientific tools to investigate aspects of the Earth system, achieving their goals has required stretching technological limits. With GOCE (Gravity field and ...
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[ FutureEO ]
Volcanic eruption Iceland
ARCHIVE CONTENT: 24 JUN. 2025

North Atlantic’s volcanic secrets – it’s about being thin

Iceland is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world, but its seismic nature is part of a much broader geological history.In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists, supported by an ESA-funded project, have uncovered the underlying forces that forged the North Atlantic’s fiery volcanic past – shedding light on the vast geological region that spans from Greenland to western Europe, which is home to iconic natural wonders like the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.
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[ Earth Observation Programmes ]
Earth: 30 year comparison
ARCHIVE CONTENT: 18 APR. 2023

10 remarkable Earth facts

Every year on 22 April, we’ve celebrated Earth Day and the beautiful planet we call home. Earth Day, established in 1970, has been used to highlight our planet’s environmental challenges and raise awareness of the importance of protecting our world for future generations. But shouldn’t every day be Earth Day? We only have one beautiful planet after all. We hope you enjoy this curated list of 10 of the most remarkable facts about Earth. Scroll to the end of the article to take part in ESA's 'You like, we plant' campaign.
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[ GOCE ]
Patterns of magnetic rocks and embayment under the ice in East Antarctica
ARCHIVE CONTENT: 09 MAR. 2022

Filling the GOCE data gap unearths South Pole’s geological past

It’s very difficult to know what lies beneath a blanket of kilometres-thick ice, so it is hardly surprising that scientists have long contested the shape and geology of the ancient supercontinent from which East Antarctica formed over a billion years ago. An ESA-funded study can now lay some of this conjecture to rest. Using sensors on aircraft to measure changes in the gravity and magnetic signatures of the different rocks under the ice, scientists have discovered a huge bay the size of the UK formed part of the edge of East Antarctica.
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GOCE technical documents

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[ GOCE ]
GOCE in orbit
14 FEB. 2008

Introducing GOCE

This sleek, high-tech gravity satellite embodied many firsts in its design and use of new technology in space to map Earth's gravity field in unprecedented detail.As the most advanced gravity ...
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[ GOCE ]
2011 GOCE geoid
14 FEB. 2008

A force that shapes our planet

Gravity is a fundamental force of nature that influences many dynamic processes within Earth’s interior, and on and above its surface. It was Isaac Newton who, more than 300 years ago, explained the basic principles of gravitation and the concept more commonly known as the 'g' force.
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[ GOCE ]
Ocean circulation conveyor belt
15 JAN. 2015

Ocean circulation

A better understanding of Earth's gravity field and its associated geoid is advancing our knowledge of how the Earth system works – in particular, our understanding of global ocean circulation patterns.
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[ GOCE ]
New insights into Earth interior processes
15 JAN. 2015

Solid-Earth physics

Since the gravity measurements taken by GOCE reflect density variations in the Earth's interior, the resulting data are leading to new insights into processes occurring in the lithosphere and upper mantle – down to a depth of about 200 km.
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