The Last Moments for GOCE

Over the weekend, the GOCE scientific satellite burned up in Earthâs atmosphere off the coast of the Falkland Islands.

Thatâs not exactly downtown Chicago â the Falklands are thinly populated, with only about 3000 people there â so I despaired of seeing an image of the last few moments for GOCE. However, a picture did turn up, taken by Bill Chater:

In a followup tweet, Chater said he has video, so we may yet see a little more of this missionâs noble demise.

It's always sad to see a mission come to an end, but it helps a lot to know that it was very successful, providing data that scientists will use for many years to come. My congratulations to the GOCE team for their hard work.