ERS-2 launched in 1995 to collect data on Earth’s land, oceans and polar caps
It’s finally coming back to Earth – but experts can’t say exactly when or where
It’s been floating above our planet for nearly 30 years.
But a satellite launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) is finally set to crash back down to Earth this month.
ERS-2, which blasted off from French Guiana in 1995, weighs just over 5,000lbs – about the same as an adult rhinoceros.
Experts at ESA say it will reenter the planet’s atmosphere ‘mid-February’, although exactly when or where it will land is as yet unknown.
The agency expects any parts of the machine to ‘likely fall into the ocean’ – and stresses that the risk of being injured by space debris is less than 1 in 100 billion.
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13061265/European-satellite-crash-Earth-month.html