Envisat images delivered to Antarctic eclips...( and because they record surface roughn...),Health

As the Kapitan Khlebnikov prepared to reach its planned berth off the Russian Antarctic base of Mirny last week, ASAR images were sent more frequently. On Thursday, Lichtenegger received an image of the region within three hours of its acquisition.

"I modified it for easier dissemination and interpretation and then sent it directly on to the ship and the website," said Lichtenegger. "So they were able to view it that same day. To get to them the image had journeyed twice around the world acquired by Envisat over Antarctica, then downlinked to the ESA station at Kiruna in northern Sweden, then via internet to my computer in Switzerland, and finally back to Antarctica again!"

Antarctic weather is always unpredictable, although luckily the sky stayed clear enough for Loren and the others to see the eclipse, although at the last moment thin clouds prevented seeing the corona. And the darkness from the Moon's 5000-km-long shadow was striking. Loren was thrilled with her first ever eclipse, and you can hear her describe it in her own words at a radio report on the Anatarctica 2003 website.

The passengers of Kapitan Khlebnikov are spending the next few days on a very busy sightseeing itinerary. The icebreaker leaves the area on 27 November, due to dock at Hobart in Tasmania on 3 December. "They will continue receiving ASAR images in near real time up to the ice edge around 60 degrees south," explained Lichtenegger. "Envisat will then acquire further ASAR samples, and coverage of MERIS and AATSR for offline delivery and later evaluation using the measurements performed onboard." And you can follow the rest of their trip out of the ice via the internet.

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Contact: Henri Laur
henri.laur@esa.int
39-06-941-80-557
European Space Agency
26-Nov-2003