NASA to launch satellite measuring Earth's melting ice on Sep 15
Washington, Sep 13: NASA is set to launch a satellite equipped with the most advanced laser instrument of its kind in to space, to provide critical observations of how the Earth's ice sheets, glaciers and sea ice are changing.
About Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2)
The agency plans to send the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) into space on 15 September atop a Delta 2 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
What will the satellite do?
It will focus on measuring changes in ice thickness in places including Greenland and Antarctica, but it will also collect data on forest growth and cloud height.
NASA to measure melting ice
ICESat-2
represents
a
major
technological
leap
in
the
ability
to
measure
changes
in
ice
height,
NASA
said
in
a
statement.
Its
Advanced
Topographic
Laser
Altimeter
System
(ATLAS)
measures
height
by
timing
how
long
it
takes
individual
light
photons
to
travel
from
the
spacecraft
to
Earth
and
back.