ESA's CryoSat-2 Ice Satellite Launched

Europe's first mission dedicated to studying the Earth's ice, CryoSat-2, was launched today from Kazakhstan. From its polar orbit, the satellite will send back data leading to new insights into how ice is responding to climate change and the role it plays in our 'Earth system'. CryoSat-2 replaces the original CryoSat satellite that was lost in 2005 owing to a launch failure. The mission objectives, however, remain the same: to measure changes in the thickness of the vast ice sheets that overlie Antarctica and Greenland, as well as variations in the thickness of the relatively thin ice floating in the polar oceans. read more

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