ESA Cryosat-2

ESA Cryosat-2 Courtesy ESA

The European Space Agency launched a satellite in April that will give scientists unprecedented data about the polar ice caps and track changes in the thickness of the ice down to around half an inch — essential information for monitoring climate change. The satellite, CryoSat-2, is a second attempt; the first CryoSat was destroyed by a rocket malfunction in 2005. But ESA built an advanced replacement, with software upgrades and greater battery capacity powering an interferometric radar range-finder with twin antennas which measures the height difference between floating ice and open water.

www.esa.int/cryosat