Operation IceBridge

  • IceBridge is a 2009–2018 NASA mission that aims to monitor changes in polar ice from a fixed-wing aircraft.
  • It is a temporary replacement for the ICESat satellite until the ICESat-2 launch in 2018.
  • Since 2003 NASA has used a satellite, ICESat (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite), for observing polar ice.
  • ICESat was retired in 2009 due to a technical malfunction, leaving NASA without a satellite dedicated to ice observance.
  • NASA therefore introduced the IceBridge program which utilizes an aircraft to make similar measurements.

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