ESA GOCE Gravity research satellite re-enters Earth's Atmosphere

The European Space Agency says its GOCE research satellite crashed to Earth on Sunday night with 25% of it falling as debris.

European satellite met its fiery doom in Earth's atmosphere late Sunday (Nov. 10), succumbing to the same gravitational pull of the planet that it spent the last four years mapping like never before.

The European Space Agency's GOCE satellite fell from space Sunday at 7 p.m. EST (0000 Nov. 11 GMT) while flying on a path that would take it over Siberia, the Western Pacific Ocean, the eastern Indian Ocean and Antarctica, ESA officials said.

"As expected, the satellite disintegrated in the high atmosphere and no damage to property has been reported," ESA officials wrote in a statement.

GOCE was launched in 2009 to map the Earth's gravitational field. It ran out of fuel last month, ending the mission.