ESA launch cutting-edge satellite to monitor earth's ice fields

The European Space Agency is preparing to launch its most sophisticated satellite to date, in order to investigate the Earth's ice fields. The data obtained by the satellite will allow researchers to map ice thickness over both water and land.

The satellite, named CryoSat, will be the third of the ESA's Earth Explorer satellites in orbit, following the already-launched GOCE and SMOS satellites. The launch needs to go as smoothly as possible, as the first CryoSat satellite – which was intended to be the first in the Earth Explorer series to be launched – was lost due to a launcher failure in 2005.

CryoSat, named after the Greek 'kruos', which means 'icy cold', weighs seven hundred kilograms and carries the first all-weather microwave radar altimeter. The altimeter is capable of determining changes within a one-centimetre accuracy of the thickness of both floating sea ice and polar land ice sheets, which range in size from several metres of several kilometres respectively.

The satellite's launch comes amidst record lows in the extent of summer Arctic sea-ice in Arctic regions. Although ice cover mapping via satellites has already been in place for many years, CryoSat data will focus on the thickness of ice sheets, providing researchers with valuable information on ice thickness and its contribution to climate change.

The satellite is due to be launched sometime in the next few months, with mission control in Darmstadt, Germany.

For more information on the CryoSat project, contact the ESA at media@esa.int.

Published: Monday, 22nd February 2010 by Tom Freeman

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