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NSIDC Scientific ExpeditionsOn Thin Ice:
Expedition to a Crumbling Ice Shelf
Scientists blog from Antarctica and provide a glimpse of what it's like to do research in the field. Read their blog ...
Current Conditions
Icelights: Answers to your burning questions about ice and climate
What's hot in the news around climate and sea ice and what are scientists talking about now? Read more...
What is the Cryosphere?
When scientists talk about the cryosphere, they mean the places on Earth where water is in its solid form, frozen into ice or snow. Read more ...
The Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, is measuring the height of a changing Earth one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses per second. Launched on September 15, 2018, ICESat-2 will allow scientists to monitor the elevation of ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, and more—all in unprecedented detail.
News
05 May 2020
ICESat-2 Version 3 data are now available. To receive updates about ICESat-2 data, sign up for our ICESat-2 mailing list.
ICESat-2 Data at NSIDC DAAC
ICESat-2 collects elevation data over all surfaces spanning the world's frozen regions, forests, lakes, urban areas, and more. These data are downlinked to Earth, reformatted, checked for quality, repackaged into scientific data sets, and delivered to the NSIDC DAAC for distribution and archive.
Learn more about all the ICESat-2 data sets at the NSIDC DAAC.
The Mission
Our planet's frozen and icy areas, known as the cryosphere, are a key focus of NASA Earth science research. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much, the cryosphere is changing as the climate warms. The satellite will also measure heights across Earth's temperate and tropical regions and take stock of vegetation in forests worldwide.
Learn all about the ICESat-2 mission at the NASA Goddard Spaces Flight Center.
ICESat and Operation IceBridge
From 2003 to 2009, the ICESat mission obtained elevation data over ice sheets, information about clouds in polar regions, and topography and vegetation data around the globe. Following ICESat, NASA began Operation IceBridge, a series of airborne campaigns to measure changes to polar land and sea ice and provide continuity between ICESat and ICESat-2. The NSIDC DAAC distributes ICESat and Operation IceBridge data.
Launch Details
ICESat-2 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base on September 15, 2018 at 6:02 AM (PT), on board United Launch Alliance's final Delta II rocket.
ICESat-2 Successfully Launched on Final Flight of Delta II Rocket
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