Envisat lost, declared dead
MAY 14, 2012
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026037
European Space Agency : The Envisat satellite has observed and monitored Earth’s land, atmosphere, oceans, and ice caps over the past 10 years, providing invaluable data about Earth’s climate and our influence on it. Just weeks after celebrating the satellite’s 10th year in orbit, on 8 April, communication with Envisat was suddenly lost. After numerous failed attempts to reestablish contact, ESA has declared the mission over. The loss is a setback to ESA, which is without a major climate satellite until the launch of the Sentinel missions next year. Among Envisat‘s less well-known duties was monitoring floods and oil spills to help civil protection authorities manage natural and anthropogenic disasters.
More about the authors
Paul Guinnessy, pguinnes@aip.org
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
