ESA: Gravity mapping satellite is nearing end of mission

ESA's Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) mission will end this year. It has begun its decent towards Earth and will be reentering our atmosphere probably in mid-October. Having nearly tripled its planned lifetime, this Gravity field and steady-state mission has successfully mapped variations in Earth’s gravity with extreme detail.

ESA reports: "Scientists further exploited these data to create the first global high-resolution map of the boundary between Earth’s crust and mantle – called the Moho – and to detect sound waves from the massive earthquake that hit Japan on 11 March 2011, among other results."