Mission archive

GRACE

The US-German mini-satellite mission GRACE will help scientists develop a new model of the Earth’s gravitational field with unprecedented accuracy. The following questions will be addressed: Are the polar ice-caps melting? Are sea levels rising? Are we likely to see major flood events? Why do warm ocean currents like the gulf stream reach so high up into the Earth’s northern hemisphere, and what role does the influence of gravitation play in that context?

BIRD

From the ground, forest fires are often discovered very late. However, they can be spotted much earlier from the air or even from space. DLR is testing the technologies of such an early warning system with BIRD (bi-spectral infra-red detection), a small satellite that was successfully launched from India on 22 October 2001.

CHAMP

Conceived at the Potsdam GeoResearch Centre, CHAMP is a research satellite which, operating from a near-Earth orbit, made important contributions towards the exploration of the Earth’s magnetic and gravitational field as well as for atmospheric physics. It provided reference data of hitherto unattained accuracy for geodesy, new insights in geophysics and oceanography, and contributions to climate research.

Envisat - Europe's environmental satellite

Artist's impression of the Envisat satellite