HTTP:: GOCE Starts Its Science Mission
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The European Space Agency's (ESA) Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite has finally begun transmitting high-quality data from its peculiar, low orbit around the planet. Its ultra-sensitive instruments analyze subtle variations in the Earth's gravitational pull over various regions of the globe, and the mission's main objective is to produce the first full map of these variations. Its secondary objective is to create the first image of the planet's spheroid, a feature that does not necessarily represent its actual shape, but that is of tremendous use for scientists. Having recently completed its calibration and instrument-tuning stages, the observatory is now ready to start collecting the most precise gravitational measurements of our planet. The craft is practically free-falling through the atmosphere, as it circles the globe, and engineers have outfitted it with a highly precise and very smoothly running ion thruster. The motor is abl!
e to accelerate the craft in such a manner that its instruments are not affected. Jolts are to be avoided for such a mission, the experts say, if a clear picture of the Earth's geoid is to result. Such a map would essentially paint a portrait of the planet as it would look if it were covered by a smooth ocean and had no altitude variations. Measurem...
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http://news.softpedia.com/news/GOCE-Starts-Its-Science-Mission-123176.shtml
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