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The first session was a 'mobile link' while Mr Van Geel was travelling in the ESA Multimedia Van enroute from the Dutch Parliament to ESTEC (image right). He and Mr Marc van den Tweel, Marketing and Communication Director for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Europe spoke directly with Cornelissen and his team in their tents for a half-hour. They discussed climate issues and the progress of the expedition. |
 Dutch State Secretary for the Environment Mr Pieter van Geel |
Before proceeding to attend an international conference on climate issues at the United Nations in New York City United States, Mr Van Geel then stopped by Space Expo, where a second video-conferencing session took place between journalists from the Dutch media. During this 'video-press conference' journalists were able to pose questions to Cornellissen and his team on the progress of their expedition and the results of the scientific research.
 The ESA Multimedia van is equipped with UMTS services |
The ESA Multimedia Van (image left) is a prototype vehicle designed to demonstrate a wide array of multimedia communications technologies, most notably satellite-based UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) services. (For more on the ESA Multimedia van click under related links). |
Critical to this link was Inmarsat's recently launched I-4 satellite, which was connected with terrestrial UMTS into a hybrid network, enabling a bi-directional link from the van to Greenland. These kinds of hybrid satcom/UMTS networks will become more prevalent in the future as applications such as mobile television gain in popularity.
The Inmarsat 4 satellite was developed by Astrium of the United Kingdom and its Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) payload was based on research and development activities supported by ESA. The BGAN payload is one of the most advanced in operation utilising on-board processing techniques.
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Since 3 May, the arctic expedition has been collecting information on snow and ice thickness. This information will be used to calibrate the payloads of the upcoming Cryosat 2 mission. Cryosat will be launched in 2009 to assist in answering questions in the climate change debate. Before departing for New York, Mr Van Geel said, "This has highlighted the Cornellissen expedition. We have been talking about the climate in Greenland, which like here in the Netherlands is becoming more and more erratic. A melting of the polar icecap would have serious consequences for both the local population and us." |
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The students and Cornellissen told of their experiences on the Greenland icecap, meeting the local Inuit people and scientific research in the difficult weather conditions. The group will return to the Netherlands on 13 May, which will mark the 'real beginning' of the climate campaign for the students. "We will tell everyone that wants to hear about what we've seen here, the climate is changing and mankind is influencing that."
To read more about the Inmarsat payload BGAN just click under related links at the top-right of this page.
All images ESA.
