European Sting - When ERS-2 came spiralling down to Earth in March, it wasn’t just another satellite burning up in the atmosphere. ERS-2 was the last surviving of two satellites scientists reverently call “grandfathers of Earth observation in Europe”.
Launched in the early 1990s by the European Space Agency (ESA), the two ERS (Earth Remote Sensing) missions offered scientists new ways of studying our planet’s atmosphere, land and oceans. This included monitoring the sea ice, deforestation, ozone levels and many other aspects relating to our planet’s health.