21/09/2020 (Agence Europe) – The European Space Agency (ESA) announced, on Monday 21 September, the signing of a €300 million contract with Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space to launch the Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (Cristal) mission as part of the European Earth observation programme, Copernicus. The objective of the mission, which will be launched in 2027, is to measure sea ice thickness and the rise of the polar ice caps and to better understand the mechanisms operating in climate change, explains ESA in its press release. This contract follows on the one signed in July to measure carbon dioxide, which should be launched in the next decade (see EUROPE 12540/23). The Copernicus programme plays a key role in the pursuit of the EU’s climate goals. However, the Member States of the Union made cuts in its budget last July, much to the chagrin of ESA (see EUROPE 12563/14). (PH)