The European Space Agency (ESA) lost contact with its flagship Earth observing satellite almost two weeks ago, but the space agency hasn't skipped a beat in trying to make contact with Envisat.

Ground controllers from the European Space Agency (ESA) are still trying to make contact with the space agency's flagship Earth observation mission, Envisat.

As ESA’s Envisat satellite marks ten years in orbit, it continues to observe the rapid retreat of one of Antarctica’s ice shelves due to climate warming.

In the early hours of 1 March 2002, the largest Earth observation satellite ever built soared into orbit from ESA’s launch base in Kourou, French Guiana. For a decade, Envisat has been keeping watch over our planet.

NASA has renamed its newest Earth-observing satellite in honor of the late Verner E. Suomi, a meteorologist at the University of Wisconsin who is recognized widely as "the father of satellite meteorology."