[guitar strumming] >>Singing: ICESat launched 11 years ago, measuring ice, glaciers and snow. Lasers housed in a device called "GLAS", observed the Earth and sent the data fast. Lasers bounced off the polar sector, mapping the Earth with a photon collector. Lasers captured both width and depth, so we can better study the polar breadth. Using our laser technology, results in 3D cartography. Using our laser technology, we can do accurate topography. >>Anna: As the global sea level continues to rise, it becomes more and more necessary to map how much land ice has melted. But how do we map such a big area with any accuracy? The answer is lasers. >>Geof: Photos show the changes in the surface area of ice, but don't show depth. Lasers can measure topography to within an inch. Because of that precision and speed, laser ranging instruments are in use to measure the surface topography of the ice and study how much ice has been lost. >>Anna: NASA measure two types of ice. Ice on land, and sea ice. Ice sheets and glaciers found on land, like Greenland and Antarctica, are formed as snow accumulates and is compacted into ice. Sea ice on the other hand, is frozen sea water found floating in the Arctic Ocean and offshore of Antarctica. >>Geof: IceBridge flights over the ocean near Greenland allow researchers to measure the height differences between open water and sea ice, which is key to determining the ice thickness. >>Anna: ICESat-2 will measure elevation across Earth's entire surface, including vegetation and oceans, but with a focus on change in the frozen areas of the planet where scientists have observed dramatic impacts on climate change. ICESat-2 will be launched in the near future. Until then, follow NASA's mapping missions. >>Singing: 2010 was the end of the mission. IceBridge and LVIS flew into position. Crisscrossing grids across the ice, measuring once, measuring twice. ICESat-2 in the next few years, will launch to measure new frontiers. ICESat's laser technology, reveals our hidden geography. Using our laser technology, results in 3D cartography. Using our laser technology, we can do accurate topography. [guitar strumming] [guitar strumming] [final guitar strum]