When ERS-2 was deployed in 1995, it was a state-of-the-art observation platform that pioneered technologies that are now routinely used to monitor Earth.
Since ceasing operations in 2011, it has been descending gradually. Sometime on Wednesday, it will make an uncontrollably violent plummet into the sky.
The majority of the two-ton spacecraft will burn up as it descends, according to the European Space Agency (Esa).
Although there’s a chance that some stronger sections would survive the extreme heat produced during the high-speed dive, there’s little probability that these pieces will strike inhabited regions and do harm.
They could land practically anywhere on Earth, but since the ocean covers the majority of the planet’s surface, any debris that makes it to the surface is probably lost at sea.
Mirko Albani of Esa’s Earth Observation Ground Segment Department stated, “And it’s worth highlighting that none of the elements that might re-enter the atmosphere (and reach the surface) are radioactive or toxic.”
