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. The animation was created and produced by media art students from the Savannah College of Art in Design (SCAD) in Georgia, in collaboration with NASA’s Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission. Their goal was to communicate the science and engineering of the mission, slated for launch in 2018. ICESat-2, managed by NASA Goddard in Greenbelt, Maryland, will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. ICESat-2 will carry a photon-counting laser altimeter that will allow scientists to measure the elevation of ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice and more - all in unprecedented detail. The workings of this laser helped inspire students to create the character of Pho and plot his adventure. Our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, are a key focus of NASA's Earth science research. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much, our cryosphere is changing in a warming climate. The satellite will also measure heights across Earth's temperate and tropical regions, and take stock of the vegetation in forests worldwide. For more about the mission, visit https://icesat-2.gsfc.nasa.gov. ||

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. ||

ICESat-2 es un láser espacial de gran precisión que integra la tecnología más puntera de la NASA. Para poder medir la altura del hielo del planeta, los ingenieros deben llevar el instrumento ATLAS de ICESat-2 al extremo: a veces yendo a lo grande, otras a lo pequeño, pero siempre manteniéndolo preciso.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.Click here for English-language versions. ||

"Stars Align," Andrew Michael Britton, Atmosphere Music Ltd.; "A New Hope," Al Lethbridge, Atmosphere Music Ltd.Complete transcript available. || countdown_Thumb_print.jpg (1024x577) [75.2 KB] || countdown_Thumb_searchweb.png (320x180) [76.0 KB] || countdown_Thumb_thm.png (80x40) [6.3 KB] || 13065_Countdown_prores.mov (1920x1080) [2.4 GB] || 13065_Countdown_facebook_720.mp4 (1280x720) [228.5 MB] || 13065_Countdown_twitter_720.mp4 (1280x720) [40.0 MB] || 13065_Countdown_youtube_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [314.1 MB] || 13065_Countdown.webm (960x540) [73.1 MB] || 13065_Countdown.en_US.srt [3.7 KB] || 13065_Countdown.en_US.vtt [3.7 KB] ||

Animated informational slides designed to introduce the viewer to the ICESat-2 mission and ATLAS instrument. || ICESat-2_Kiosk_print.jpg (1024x576) [89.3 KB] || ICESat-2_Kiosk_searchweb.png (320x180) [62.7 KB] || ICESat-2_Kiosk_web.png (320x180) [62.7 KB] || ICESat-2_Kiosk_thm.png (80x40) [4.8 KB] || Kiosk_2019_final.webm (1920x1080) [14.8 MB] || Kiosk_2019_final.mp4 (1920x1080) [150.4 MB] ||

Data visualization featuring precise map of Mercer and Conway subglacial lakes in West Antarctica. The visualization sequence starts with a view of the Americas and slowly zooms into the suture between the Mercer and Whillans ice streams. Surface-height anomaly data from NASA's ICESat-2 mission provide critical insight for the drain-fill cycles of subglacial lakes and aid in the discovery of two new water bodies within the same region. This data-driven visualization includes labels of ice formations close to the area of interest and repeats playback of the segment of the subglacial lakes surface-height anomalies. || SubglacialLakesCompositex2_4K60fps_0904_print.jpg (1024x576) [88.8 KB] || SubglacialLakesCompositex2_4K60fps_0904.png (3840x2160) [5.9 MB] || Compositex2 (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || SubglacialLakesCompositex2_HD60fps.mp4 (1920x1080) [58.4 MB] || SubglacialLakesCompositex2_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [53.8 MB] || SubglacialLakesCompositex2_HD60fps.webm (1920x1080) [6.9 MB] || Compositex2_4K (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || SubglacialLakesCompositex2_4K60fps.mp4 (3840x2160) [58.5 MB] || SubglacialLakesCompositex2_4K30fps.mp4 (3840x2160) [182.4 MB] || SubglacialLakesCompositex2_1080p30.mp4.hwshow [200 bytes] ||

A selection of shots of the ICESat-2 ATLAS instrument leaving Goddard Space Flight Center for Orbital ATK.Music: "We Learn," Andrew Michael Britton, Atmosphere Music Ltd.Complete transcript available. || ATLAS_Leaves_Highlights_v2.00972_print.jpg (1024x576) [169.2 KB] || ATLAS_Leaves_Highlights_v2.00972_searchweb.png (320x180) [105.3 KB] || ATLAS_Leaves_Highlights_v2.00972_thm.png (80x40) [7.3 KB] || ATLAS_Leaves_v4_YOUTUBE.mp4 (1920x1080) [67.0 MB] || ATLAS_Leaves_v4_twitter_720.mp4 (1280x720) [12.0 MB] || ATLAS_Leaves_v4_prores.webm (1920x1080) [7.0 MB] || ATLAS_Leaves_v4_prores.mov (1920x1080) [889.1 MB] || ATLAS_Leaves_v4.en_US.srt [833 bytes] || ATLAS_Leaves_v4.en_US.vtt [845 bytes] ||

Next month, NASA will launch into space the most advanced laser instrument of its kind, beginning a mission to measure – in unprecedented detail – changes in the heights of Earth’s polar ice.NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will measure the average annual elevation change of land ice covering Greenland and Antarctica to within the width of a pencil, capturing 60,000 measurements every second.“ICESat-2’s new observational technologies will advance our knowledge of how the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica contribute to sea level rise while also helping us understand the connection of sea ice loss to the global system,” said Thomas Wagner, cryosphere program scientist in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.ICESat-2 will extend and improve upon NASA's 15-year record of monitoring the change in polar ice heights, which started in 2003 with the first ICESat mission and continued in 2009 with NASA’s Operation IceBridge, an airborne research campaign that monitors the accelerating rate of change.ICESat-2 represents a major technological leap in our ability to measure changes in ice height. Its Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) measures height by timing how long it takes individual light photons to travel from the spacecraft to Earth and back.NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Aug. 22, to discuss the upcoming launch of the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat-2), which will fly NASA's most advanced laser altimeter to measure Earth’s changing ice. The teleconference will stream live on NASA's website.ICESat-2 is scheduled to launch Sept. 15 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.The briefing participants are: • Tom Wagner, cryosphere program scientist in the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at NASA Headquarters • Richard Slonaker, ICESat-2 program executive in SMD • Doug McLennan, ICESat-2 project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center • Donya Douglas-Bradshaw, Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) instrument project manager at Goddard • Tom Neumann, ICESat-2 deputy project scientist at GoddardFor more information:Media AdvisoryICESat-2 Video Resources ||

Music: "Ideas for Tomorrow," Laurent Dury [SACEM]; "Swish," Charles Stephens III [ASCAP], Stephan Sechi [ASCAP]; "Suburban Waltz," Christopher Mark Salt [PRS], Philip Guyler [PRS]; "Buoys," Donn Wilkerson [BMI]; "Late Night Drive," Donn Wilkerson [BMI]; "The BBQ," Alexander Hitchens [BMI], Wally Gagel [ASCAP], Xandy Barry [ASCAP]; "A Pizzicato Piece," Andrew Michael Britton [PRS], David Stephen Goldsmith [PRS]Watch this video on the NASA.gov Video YouTube channel.Additional footage provided by Tom Neumann, United Launch Alliance, Kennedy Space Center, NASA Earth Observatory, Dr. Justin Beckers & Dr. Christian Haas and pond5.com || CRYO_EP8_Titlecard_print.jpg (1024x576) [81.2 KB] || CRYO_EP8_Titlecard_searchweb.png (320x180) [74.4 KB] || CRYO_EP8_Titlecard_thm.png (80x40) [5.9 KB] || CRYOEP8_LAUNCH_prores.mov (1920x1080) [4.8 GB] || CRYOEP8_LAUNCH.mp4 (1920x1080) [382.1 MB] || CRYOEP8_LAUNCH_prores.webm (1920x1080) [40.6 MB] || CRYO_EP8.en_US.srt [6.4 KB] || CRYO_EP8.en_US.vtt [6.4 KB] ||

Music: "Coveted Jewels," Universal Production Music || underflight_thumb.png (1908x1072) [2.5 MB] || underflight_thumb_print.jpg (1024x575) [98.7 KB] || underflight_thumb_searchweb.png (320x180) [90.1 KB] || underflight_thumb_thm.png (80x40) [5.8 KB] || 13330_Underflight_prores.mov (1920x1080) [1.7 GB] || 13330_Underflight.mp4 (1920x1080) [64.9 MB] || 13330_Underflight_prores.webm (1920x1080) [9.6 MB] || 13330_Underflight.en_US.srt [1005 bytes] || 13330_Underflight.en_US.vtt [1018 bytes] ||