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A piece of Finnish space technology was launched into
space aboard the European Space Agency's largest satellite,
the Envisat.
The bus-sized satellite carries a total of ten measuring
devices that monitor environmental changes. Of these, Gomos,
which will measure global warming and ozone depletion, is
largely the result of Finnish know-how.
The satellite covers the entire globe in three days. It will
orbit the earth for at least the next five years. The first
images show an iceberg separating from a glacier, biomass
formations off the coast of Mauritania, and signs of beach
erosion in Italy.
Local phenomena, such as the amount of algae and the movements
of algal and oil slicks on the sea, are the most interesting
of Envisat's data from the Finnish perspective. The satellite
also collects information on the extent and movements of sea
ice cover for icebreakers.
Participation in the Envisat project has increased the international
competitiveness of Finnish space technology. The Finnish companies
involved in the development of Gomos, Space Systems Finland
and Patria, consider the Envisat project a key contributing
factor behind their current position among the industry's
foremost experts. Fellow participants, The Finnish Meteorological
Institute and VTT, have distinguished themselves scientifically
during the project.
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Finnish Space Technology Aboard the Envisat
Finnish Meteorological
Institute
- Specifications and measurement design for the Gomos
measuring device; satellite measurement data processing
and refining.
Patria
- Design and manufacture of the Gomos device's SDE (Science
Data Electronics) data collection and pre-processing
unit.
Space Systems Finland
- Software to ESA, Astrium SAS, Alcatel Space Industries,
and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (e.g. software
to control the ozone measurement computer).
VTT
- Development of the laboratory model and related measurements
for the most important optical part of Gomos, the ultraviolet
light analysis spectrometer.
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>> Technologies to prevent climate change (25.7.2002)
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www.envisat.esa.int
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