ESA’s GOCE mission to end this year

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ESA’s GOCE mission to end this year

13 September 2013 After more than four years mapping Earth’s gravity with unrivalled precision, GOCE’s mission is nearing its end and the satellite will soon reenter our atmosphere.

The Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer – GOCE – has been orbiting Earth since March 2009 at the lowest altitude of any research satellite.

With a sleek, aerodynamic design responsible for it being dubbed the ‘Ferrari of space’, GOCE has mapped variations in Earth’s gravity with extreme detail.

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