ICESat-2 measures the Ice Shelf
ICESat-2's instrument will take measurements every 2.5 feet along its ground path - mapping dips and drop-offs in the ice. This illustration is an outcome of the ICESat-2/SCAD Collaborative Student Project.
ICESat-2, illustrated
ICESat-2 will use six laser beams to measure the height of ice, as illustrated in this not-to-scale artist's rendering. This illustration is an outcome of the ICESat-2/SCAD Collaborative Student Project.
ATLAS box structure
The box structure of the ATLAS instrument takes shape in the cleanroom at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as engineers carefully connect and attach different electrical components and fiber optics.
Orbiting ICESat-2
In this artist's concept of ICESat-2, the satellite's laser beams are visible as it orbits.
ICESat-2 Deployment and Laser Pulses
The Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, is a laser altimeter that will measure the heights of Earth’s surfaces. This animation shows deployment of ICESat-2's solar panels, door, and laser pulses.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
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ICESat-2 By the Numbers
ICESat-2 is an incredibly precise space laser that features the latest in NASA technology To measure ice heights, engineers have to take ICESat-2’s instrument ATLAS to the extreme – sometimes going big, sometimes going small, but always keeping it precise.
Download high resolution video here.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
ICESat-2 By the Numbers: Orbits
ICESat-2 is an incredibly precise space laser that features the latest in NASA technology To measure ice heights, engineers have to take ICESat-2’s instrument ATLAS to the extreme – sometimes going big, sometimes going small, but always keeping it precise.
Download high resolution video here.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
ATLAS box structure checkout
Engineers check on the box structure section of the ATLAS instrument, with the optical bench — with telescope attached — in the foreground. ATLAS is the sole instrument on the ICESat-2 satellite, and will measure the height of Earth.
ICESat-2’s Telescope
Engineers and technicians check the fit of ICESat-2’s telescope to its sling, before moving it into place on the instrument’s optical bench.
NASA Scientists Trek the South Pole
With extreme cold-weather gear, scientific instruments, and two tank-like snow machines called PistenBullys, ICESat-2 scientists traversed along section of the 88-degree south latitude line in an arc around the South Pole.
Download high resolution video here.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
ICESat-2's footprint
If ICESat-2 flew over a football field, it would take measurements within each yard line (green circles) – plus there's six of these green laser beams taking measurements at once!
The first ICESat instrument only fired 40 times a second, and would have taken a measurement in each end zone (red circles).
NASA Space Laser Heads on a Road Trip
To deliver the instrument safely to the spacecraft for assembly and testing, the ATLAS team developed special procedures for packing, transporting and monitoring the sensitive hardware.
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Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
ICESat-2 Elevates Our View of Earth
ICESat-2 will provide scientists with height measurements that create a global portrait of Earth’s third dimension, gathering data that can precisely track changes of terrain including glaciers, sea ice, forests and more.
Download full resolution video here.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
ICESat-2's beryllium telescope during assembly
An engineer attaches components to ICESat-2's beryllium telescope, before it is attached to the satellite's ATLAS instrument.
ICESat-2 Measures Slope
The ATLAS lidar on ICESat-2 uses 6 laser beams to measure the earth’s elevation and elevation change. This animation shows the beam tracks on Earth as the satellite passes overhead.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
Download high resolution video here
Laser Focus: Timing
Deputy Systems Engineer Phil Luers explains how the ATLAS transmitter and receiver subsystems come together to calculate the timing of photons, which, in turn, measure the elevation of ice.
Credits:
NASA/GSFC
Music: "Electric Works" by Philippe Lhommet, Koka Media; "From Source to Sea" by Christophe Lebled, Pierre Jacquot, Koka Media.
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Laser Focus: The Receiver
Laser Focus: The Receiver
Opto-Mechanical Engineer Tyler Evans explains how the photons that bounce back from Earth are received and filtered by the ATLAS telescope.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
Download high resolution video here
ATLAS's beryllium telescope
ATLAS captures returning photons in this 2.6-foot, 46-pound telescope.
Photon Jump
Pho, a plucky bright green photon of light, must travel from a NASA spacecraft down to Earth and back again to help complete a crucial science mission in this educational short film.
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Pho Movie Trailer
In Photon Jump, a 3-minute short animation, a brave photon of light named Pho must travel from a NASA spacecraft down to Earth and back again to help complete a crucial science mission. The animation was created by the ICESat-2/SCAD Collaborative Student Project involving students and faculty from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
Download high resolution video here
ICESat-2 By the Numbers: Beam Spacing
ICESat-2 is an incredibly precise space laser that features the latest in NASA technology To measure ice heights, engineers have to take ICESat-2’s instrument ATLAS to the extreme – sometimes going big, sometimes going small, but always keeping it precise.
Download high resolution video here.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
Sea Ice Thickness
This animation shows how ICESat-2 measures sea ice thickness.
The 88-South Antarctic Traverse
NASA cryospheric scientist Kelly Brunt and ICESat-2 Deputy Project Scientist Tom Neumann recall some of the highlights and challenges from the recent 88-South Antarctic Traverse.
Download high resolution video here.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
The ATLAS box structure on a shaker
The ATLAS box structure, with weights attached to simulate different components, is attached to a vibration table at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where it will be tested to see if it can withstand the jolts associated with a rocket launch.
Assembling ICESat-2's ATLAS
Engineers are building and testing the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) for the ICESat-2 mission at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.