GOCE belongs to the group that the European Space Agency classifies as Earth Explorers: five new satellites dedicated to provide a closer, more intimate look of our planet. And while CRYOSAT and SWARM look funky too—with SMOS and AEOLUS being a bit more conventional—GOCE's design seems straight out of a sci-fi movie.

GOCE
Developed to do a precise map of Earth's gravity field—with the help of onboard instrumentation and the GPS network—and also study the oceans' circulation.

CryoSat-2
It will study changes in polar ice caps and floating ice.

SMOS
Designed to measure soil moisture in land and salinity in the oceans, which will help us understand better the behavior of the oceans.

Aeolus
It will analyze wind patterns to improve weather forecasts and the understanding of atmospheric dynamics.

Swarm
This constellation of satellites will control the evolution of the Earth's geomagnetic field to help us understand Earth's interior and its climate.

I don't know what kind of substances the engineers at the European Space Agency are using, but I want a double shot. [ESA via Astroengine and Euronews]

Unfortunately for Adam, Addy, and David Bowie, however, it won't be a 24/7 Live Earth channel, but an hour-long broadcast that is going to be repeated from April 18. The film has been edited from high quality HD footage taken from the International Space Station and the shuttle.

NASA to Broadcast Earth Views in High Definition Television HOUSTON — Since humans first flew in space, nothing has captivated astronauts more than the view of home out the window of their spacecraft. In honor of Earth Day, April 22, NASA will make those views available to people here on Earth with an event highlighting imagery taken by astronauts and the science behind it.

For the first time ever, NASA Television will air a special hour-long broadcast of views of Earth taken in High Definition, or HD, by astronauts on past space shuttle and International Space Station missions.

The special HD broadcast will air between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 18, and replay at the same time on Monday, April 21. It will air every hour from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22.

The Friday HD broadcast will feature a silent version of the Earth views. The broadcasts on Monday and Tuesday will include a discussion of the views by Dr. Justin Wilkinson, a scientist with the Crew Earth Observations Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The footage also will air on standard NASA TV during regularly scheduled Video File broadcasts. For technical information on how to receive the special broadcast in high definition, and for NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit NASA TV.

Until that day, you will have to keep smoking your astroturf watching Flight of the Conchords reruns:

[NASA TV]

It runs on two AAA batteries, which should power the device for up to a week. [Shiny Shiny]