2024-02-21 01:50:56
Esa’s ERS-2 satellite has collected valuable data during its years of operation. But now its lifespan is coming to an end – ERS-2 will crash on Wednesday.
The European space agency Esa’s ERS-2 satellite has been orbiting the Earth since 1995. After going dormant in 2011, it is expected to crash tomorrow, Wednesday – towards Earth.
When ERS-2 began its mission almost 30 years ago, it was equipped with – for the time – state-of-the-art instruments. During its 16 years of operation, the Earth observation satellite provided valuable insights into our planet – especially with regard to changes caused by climate change.
For example, ERS-2 was able to collect a lot of information about the “dwindling polar ice, the changing land surface, sea level rise, ocean warming and the chemistry of the atmosphere,” as it says on the ESA website. Natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods could also be observed and analyzed using the satellite.
Re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere: satellite will burn up
The ERS-2 mission ended in 2011, after which the satellite was put into hibernation by ESA. To minimize the risk of collision with other satellites, its altitude was lowered from around 785 kilometers to 573. All of the missile’s instruments were shut down and the battery discharged.
Since then, the satellite has floated through space and deteriorated more and more – mainly due to solar activity. ERS-2 also moved further and further towards Earth. When it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of around 80 kilometers, most of the satellite will eventually burn up.
Can the crashing satellite pose a danger to us?
As Esa explains in a blog entry, there are very few risks associated with the re-entry of satellites because most of the missile burns up. Some fragments could survive re-entry, but would fall into the sea, according to the space agency.
ERS-2 crashes in a “natural” way – i.e. uncontrollably. Therefore, the time of re-entry cannot be predicted with 100% certainty. In addition, a forecast is influenced by solar activity, the density of the Earth’s atmosphere and the air resistance of the satellite. The Esa currently assumes that ERS-2 will enter the Earth’s atmosphere on February 21st (Wednesday) at around 8:24 p.m.