RADARSAT-1 was developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and was launched on 4 November 1995. In 1997, a joint effort by NASA and the CSA culminated in the creation of the RADARSAT Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP). The project was conducted collaboratively by the Byrd Polar Research Center, Vexcel Corporation, the Alaska Satellite Facility, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), with funding from NASA's Pathfinder Program. The project also received valuable assistance from the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency.

For RAMP, RADARSAT was rotated in its orbit so that its SAR antenna looked south towards Antarctica. This allowed for the first high-resolution mapping of the entire continent of Antarctica. The RAMP mosaics provide a detailed look at Antarctica's ice sheet morphology, rock outcrops, research infrastructure, coastline, and other features. For more information on RAMP, please see the RAMP Basics Web page.

NSIDC archives RADARSAT data that is acquired as part of RAMP and as part of other projects. See the Data Sets Web page for a complete list of RADARSAT data available from NSIDC.