ESA to relaunch CryoSat mission
The CryoSat spacecraft, which was lost during its launch in October 2005 due to a rocket launcher malfunction, is to be rebuilt, the member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) have decided. CryoSat-2 will have the same mission as its predecessor - to monitor very precisely changes in the elevation and thickness of polar ice sheets and floating sea ice. The mission is intended to help explain the connection between the melting of polar ice and the rise in sea levels, and how these are contributing to climate change. 'This decision is very important, as the scientific community in Europe and elsewhere is eagerly awaiting resumption of the CryoSat mission,' said Volker Liebig, ESA's Director of Earth observation programmes. The decision means that pre-launch scientific validation campaigns addressing land ice and sea ice can now resume. And when work begins on CryoSat-2, engineers and scientists will make use of existing technical and industrial competences that were developed and sharpened for the original CryoSat project. The ground facilities and operational set-up are also already in place. CryoSat-2's main instrument, the SAR/Interferometric Radar Altimeter, will have two antennas, one of which will send out radar signals, and both of which will detect signal echoes from the Earth's surface. The original CryoSat was meant to be the first satellite from ESA's Earth Explorer series. The series is tailored to respond to specific requirements highlighted by the international science community.