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Launched on September 15, 2018, from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California, the NASA Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2, or ICESat-2, carries a photon-counting laser altimeter that allows scientists to measure the elevation of ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, tree canopy height, ocean height, and more - all in unprecedented 3-D detail. ICESat-2 helps scientists investigate why, and how much, our Earth is changing in a warming climate.

 

 

News

Arctic Sea Ice Near Historic Low; Antarctic Ice Continues Decline

NASA article on annual sea ice minimum, likely the 7th-lowest in the satellite record. Read the article here.

Rolling with a solar storm: How ICESat-2 got back on track

ICESat-2's Data repository, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), describes the solar storms that affected ICESat-2 and how the satellite got back on track.  Read the article here. 

ICESat-2 Resumes Data Collection After Solar Storms

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. Read more.

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Space Lasers

ICESat-2's laser is split into six beams, to better measure Earth's surface.  Find out more here.

Read about space lasers

Meet Your Guides

Hang out with Paige and Pho in the FunZone!  Learn all about the ICESat-2 mission through videos and activities.

 

Check out the FunZone

Paige the Penguin and Pho the Photon

Did You Know?

The ICESat-2 laser pulses 10,000 times a second; each pulse releases about 20 trillion photons. Only about a dozen photons hit Earth’s surface and return to the satellite.