Measuring the Ice
ICESat-2 will measure the height of ice and its features, such as this glacial melt pond photographed July 16, 2014, over Alaska.
Laser Focus: The Transmitter
Opto-Mechanical Engineer Tyler Evans illustrates how the laser is transmitted from the ATLAS instrument on the ICESat-2 spacecraft.
Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
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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 By the Numbers: Microradians
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.
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Video Credit: NASA/GSFC
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.
ICESat-2's 'Box Structure'
An engineer checks ICESat-2's box structure, shortly after its arrival in a NASA clean room in May. Over the next two years, engineers and technicians will attach electronics, optics, lasers, a telescope and more to the box, testing its function at each step.
ICESat-2 Mission Logo
Official ICESat-2 mission patch logo.
Pre-Flight Checkups for ICESat-2
To develop the computer programs that will crunch the raw data gathered by ICESat-2, the mission flew a series of campaigns with the MABEL instrument, which gathers similar information.
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.
Orbiting ICESat-2
In this artist's concept of ICESat-2, the satellite's laser beams are visible as it orbits.
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.
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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.
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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.
Bevy of biomes
Beyond icy areas, ICESat-2 will measure other ecosystems including forests, rain forests, deserts and urban areas. This poster is an outcome of the ICESat-2/SCAD Collaborative Student Project.
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
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
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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 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
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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.
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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Snapchat Story
Launch countdown Snapchat story aired on August 22, 2018.
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
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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.