ICESat-2 is currently on-orbit. Find the ground tracks here.
ICESat-2 MISSION PHASES
ATLAS Instrument and Spacecraft Development
Integration and Testing
Pre-Launch
Launch
Check-Out
Orbit and data collection
Icesat-2 Launch. Learn more.
News
NASA’s ICESat-2 satellite returned to science mode on June 21 UTC, after solar storms in May caused its height-measuring instrument to go into a safe hold.
ICESat-2 goes in Safe Hold Mode May 10
Earth Observatory article about 2023's Sea Ice Minimum.
ICYMI: We counted down to ICESat-2's 2018 launch!
Space Lasers
ICESat-2's laser is split into six beams, to better measure Earth's surface. Find out more here.
Meet Your Guides
Hang out with Paige and Pho in the FunZone! Learn all about the ICESat-2 mission through videos and activities.
Laser Focus: Timing
Deputy Systems Engineer Phil Luers explains how the ATLAS transmitter and receiver subsystems come together to calculate the timing of photons, which, in turn, measure the elevation of ice.
2018-09-15 06:02:00
Feature Articles
Did You Know?
The ICESat-2 laser pulses 10,000 times a second; each pulse releases about 300 trillion photons. Only about a dozen photons hit Earth’s surface and return to the satellite.