NASA prepares to launch a new generation satellite tracking Earth's melting ice

On September 13, the US Aeronautics Agency (NASA) said it is completing preparations for the plan to launch the most advanced surveillance satellite space ICESat-2 on September 15. In NASA's Earth observation system, ICESat-2 is tasked with exploring the thickness of melting ice on Earth as the global climate is getting warmer.

At the size of a smart car of 500kg, ICESat-2 will leave Earth from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA today.

In order to obtain an image of the glacier thickness, ICETSat-2 is equipped with a pair of improved lasers superior to the early ICESat generation.

ICETSat-2 satellite has superior shooting capabilities.

Using a powerful laser but will not melt the ice at a distance of 500 km from the Earth's surface. ICETSat-2 has the ability to radiate about 10,000 times / second to overcome ICESat's early ability to only radiate 40 times / second.

ICETSat-2 also meets the requirement of wide, wide and detailed images with each shot producing 130 images in an area equivalent to a football field.

The energy of ICETSat-2 makes it possible to operate for 10 years but the requirement for ICESat-2 mission only lasts for 3 years.

The first generation of ICESat was launched into orbit in February 2003 and 2009 with the same mission as the new generation. It was ICESat that helped scientists discover that the ice sheets are gradually thinning and the area of ​​ice covered in seas like Greenland and Antarctica is gradually disappearing.

ICESat-2 is tasked with somewhat heavier when it comes to providing images that determine the extent of the melting effect on sea level, as well as improving the forecasting ability of ink changes. seawater.