[3/13/07] The European Space Agency (ESA) has given an update on the CryoSat-2 mission, reporting that by the end of the year, CryoSat-2 will be almost fully assembled.

Richard Francis, ESA’s CryoSat-2 project manager, said the agency “has hit the ground running” with CryoSat-2, which is now due for launch in 2009.

The initial CryoSat mission lost its satellite in an October 2005 launch failure. CryoSat-2 is intended to precisely measure ice thickness on both land and sea to provide conclusive proof as to whether there a trend towards diminishing polar ice cover, thereby furthering understanding of the relationship between ice and global climate.