This 2 November ESA will launch 2 satellites on top of a Rockot vehicle from the Russian Cosmodrome of Plesetsk, 2000 kms North of Moscow.

SMOS will study our planet and Proba-2 will test new technologies.

SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) is next in the series of ESAs Earth Explorers missions, which are designed to observe critical Earth system variables. SMOS is the first satellite dedicated to providing global measurements of soil moisture and ocean salinity. This will further Europe's role as a key player in Earth Observation and help advance environmental research and address the challenges of understanding how the Earth system works and how human activity is impacting natural Earth processes.

Proba-2 (Project for On Board Autonomy) will demonstrate new and innovative technologies and will observe the sun for better space weather understanding.