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The Mission
CryoSat's icy mission is dedicated to monitoring
precise changes in the thickness of polar ice
sheets and floating sea ice over a
3-year period. The observations made over the
lifetime of this mission aim to determine whether
or not the Earth's ice masses are actually thinning
due to a changing climate.
Living Planet
It is the first Earth Explorer satellite to
be launched as part of ESA's Living Planet Programme
and is scheduled to lift off from Russia in
2004. CryoSat has been developed as an Earth
Explorer Opportunity mission, which means that
it is a small research mission designed to provide
some fast answers about a specific aspect of
the Earth's environment. This mission, the concept
of which was only approved in 1999, is a response
to the current debate on climate change and
the effect that this may be having on the Earth's
large polar ice masses.
Global
Warming
Although there now seems to be little doubt
that the Earth's atmosphere is warming,
it is extremely difficult to predict what
effect this will have on the polar ice cover.
And since ice plays a major role in climate
regulation and the height of the sea level,
it is important to determine any change
in the thickness of the marine and continental
ice cover.
By measuring ice thicknesses very precisely
over three years, CryoSat aims to provide
conclusive evidence as to whether there
is a trend towards diminishing polar ice
cover and consequently improve our understanding
of the relationship between ice and global
climate. |
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The 1:30 tablemodel created using
advanced design- and manufacturing techniques.
The scale model has been made exactly matching
the authentic designs, respecting all details.
The model comes i a luxurious full-colour box,
as shown on the picture above. |
