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.