ESA launches first Earth Explorer mission GOCE

...s teams at its European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. "GOCE is ESA's first science satellite dedicated to Earth observation since envisat in 2002. The size has changed, but the rationale remains the same: to provide the best science our technology can deliver for the maximum benefit of t...

Watching water from space could aid disease prevention in China

...reas favorable for the host snails to thrive. For future measurements, all Poyang Lake water level data will come from the European Space Agency's envisat satellite, which measures the water level of the lake every 35 days. The radar readings have been calibrated to compare to baseline levels recorded in...

Kopernikus, observing our planet for a safer world

...n developing Earth Observation satellites, notably all the European meteorological satellites in cooperation with EUMETSAT, but also the ERS-1, -2 and envisat satellites, which are mostly oriented to perform measurements relevant for environmental and climate research. Based on this long-lasting experien...

Arctic explorer delivers unique snow-depth data for CryoSat

...h the two Arctic Arc expedition members relying on envisat images to guide them safely through disintegrating...IPY project, they were able to rely on images from envisat to guide them through some dangerous ice-break up.... Danish Technical University using data from ESA's envisat satellite to help us circumnavigate the open water...

Chilean volcano captured blasting ash

...Chiles Chaiten Volcano is shown spewing ash and smoke (centre left of image) into the air for hundreds of km over Argentinas Patagonia Plateau in this envisat image acquired on 5 May 2008. The 1000 m-high volcano had been dormant for thousands of years before erupting on 2 May, causing the evacuation of t...

Cyclone Nargis and Myanmar floods seen from space

... envisat captured Cyclone Nargis making its way across the Bay of Bengal just south ...non, with a clear idea of the extent of the flooded area. The series of envisat radar images highlights the extent of flooding in the Irrawaddy delta cause...

Envisat makes first ever observation of regionally elevated CO2 from manmade emissions

... Using data from the SCIAMACHY instrument aboard ESA's envisat environmental satellite, scientists have for the first time detected regionally elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide the most important greenhouse gas...

Earth from Space: Splitting iceberg

... envisat captures the break up of the massive A53A iceberg located just east of the South Georgia Island (visible at image bottom) in the southern Atlantic Oce...

Greeks get space-based help in wake of deadly fires

...orest fires to hit Greece in decades. According to data from ESAs ERS-2 and envisat satellites, which continuously survey fires burning across the Earths surfa...n the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument aboard ESAs envisat satellite. French and German Civil Protections active in Greece to support ...

Envisat Captured Breath of Volcano

...nger. Satellite radar, such as that aboard envisat and ERS-2, allows scientists to track small change...ew taken from optical and radar instruments aboard envisat can simultaneously show the ash plume, the ash fal...continuity of satellites ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat. envisat and ERS-2, with a difference in overpass time of 3...

Envisat in Biological News

'Webcam' from Space: Envisat observing Wilkins Ice Shelf

In light of recent developments that threaten to lead to the break-up of the Wilkins Ice Shelf, ESA is making daily satellite images of the ice shelf available to the public via the 'Webcam' from Space web page in order to monitor the developments as they occur. The Wilkins Ice Shelf, a broad p...

Hurricane Ike tracked by ESA's Envisat

Residents along the Gulf Coast are bracing for Hurricane Ike as it travels over the Gulf of Mexico after ripping through Cuba and Haiti. ESA's Envisat satellite is tracking the storm, which is forecast to make landfall on the Texas coast by 13 September. Knowing the strength and path of hurrica...

Breath of the dragon: ERS-2 and Envisat reveal impact of economic growth on China's air quality

China's spectacular economic growth during the last decade has brought many benefits - and some challenges. Global atmospheric mapping of nitrogen dioxide pollution performed by ERS-2's GOME and Envisat's SCIAMACHY reveals the world's largest amount of NO2 hanging above Beijing and northeast China,...

ESA map reveals European shipping routes like never before

... A synoptic view of European shipping routes can be seen for the first time thanks to a new map created using seven years of radar data from ESA's envisat satellite. Earth observation satellites have been providing ship-detecting services for several years, but this is the first time this amount of da...

ESA's Earth observation missions: Sharing teams and facilities boosts efficiency

...Control Room. The move is increasing efficiency, enhancing effectiveness and generating improved economic returns. Flight control teams operating envisat and ERS-2 have long worked out of a combined Earth Observation (EO) Dedicated Control Room (DCR) at ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre, enabli...

Satellite imagery shows fragile Wilkins Ice Shelf destabilized

...elf using a combination of radar images from ESA's envisat satellite and the German Aerospace Centre's TerraS...TerraSAR-X images and the more frequently acquired envisat images, increases the understanding of ice shelf b...is available to the public and features the latest envisat images, documenting the break-up of Antarctica's W...

Satellites show how Earth moved during Italy quake

... Studying satellite radar data from ESA's envisat and the Italian Space Agency's COSMO-SkyMed, scien....8 cm in the case of Envisat's ASAR. The first envisat data, acquired after the earthquake on 12 April, w...oduced an interferogram just a few hours after the envisat acquisition by combining these data with data acqu...

Vendee Globe route seen from above

... Wind and wave data from ESA's envisat satellite radar are being used to observe meteorol...), is using the race to demonstrate the ability of envisat radar imagery to operationally observe oceans at h...nt and processing techniques are being extended to envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) data acqu...

ESA satellites flying in formation

...cess of the first tandem mission between ERS-2 and envisat last year, ESA has paired the two satellites toget...rs had to overcome many challenges in order to put envisat and ERS-2 into a tandem flight configuration. For ...strategy is to align the tandem start date with an envisat manoeuvre. Therefore, there is no need to spend ex...

ESA satellites focusing on the Arctic

...ormation due to climate change, pollution and human activity. ESA's ERS and envisat satellites have been providing satellite data of the region for the last 17...ese regions. The Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) sensor aboard envisat is especially suitable for monitoring the Arctic because it can acquire ima...

Envisat in Biological Technology

Greeks get space-based help in wake of deadly fires

...orest fires to hit Greece in decades. According to data from ESAs ERS-2 and envisat satellites, which continuously survey fires burning across the Earths surfa...n the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument aboard ESAs envisat satellite. French and German Civil Protections active in Greece to support ...

Satellites witness lowest Arctic ice coverage in history

...ic image above, created from nearly 200 images acquired in early September 2007 by the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument aboard ESAs envisat satellite, the dark gray colour represents the ice-free areas while green represents areas with sea ice. Leif Toudal Pedersen from the Danish Nation...