Envisat is Most Extensive European Satellite Project Ever

With the launch of Envisat on March 1, Europe has taken a leading role in space-based environmental research. The European Space Agency (ESA) satellite will gather data on the causes of the hole in the ozone layer, global warming, and other processes. Envisat will also collect data on compliance with the climate protection standards of the Kyoto Protocol. "From space, we will be able to recognize quite exactly the environmental sins on Earth," said German Environmental Minister Edelgard Bulmahn, who serves as chairwoman of the Ministerial Council of the ESA.

Envisat is the most extensive and costly satellite project ever undertaken in Europe. Germany is one of its main sponsors, having contributed more than 500 million EUR to the total 2.3 billion EUR cost for development, construction, launch and operation of the satellite for at least five years. In all, more than 100 companies from 14 nations participated in the decade-long development.

Envisat was launched into orbit on March 1 from French Guyana aboard an Ariane-5 rocket. With its solar panels fully extended, the satellite has a length of 25 meters, about 90 feet. It contains ten instruments, including the "Sciamachy" (Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography), which is to measure when and how much carbon dioxide individual countries are releasing into the atmosphere.

Envisat homepage

Advanced Search    Help

Energy and the Environment

Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol

Renewable and "Clean" Energies

By the Numbers

Envisat

Subscribe Here You can also read the current issues here.

Printer-Friendly Page