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. ||

NASA cryospheric scientist Kelly Brunt and ICESat-2 Deputy Project Scientist Tom Neumann recall some of the highlights and challenges from the recent 88-South Antarctic Traverse.Music: "Lights," Alexius Tschallener [SUISA], Dominik Johnson [PRS]; "Vulnerable Moment," John Ashton Thomas [PRS]Complete transcript available. || 12905_thumbstill_print.jpg (1024x576) [48.3 KB] || 12905_thumbstill_searchweb.png (180x320) [45.6 KB] || 12905_thumbstill_thm.png (80x40) [4.0 KB] || 12905_Post_Traverse_TWITTER.mp4 (1280x720) [58.5 MB] || 12905_Post_Traverse_PRORES.webm (1920x1080) [28.0 MB] || 12905_Post_Traverse.mp4 (1920x1080) [276.7 MB] || 12905_Post_Traverse_FACEBOOK.mp4 (1920x1080) [336.9 MB] || 12905_Post_Traverse_YOUTUBE.mp4 (1920x1080) [406.9 MB] || 12905_PostTraverse.en_US.srt [5.0 KB] || 12905_PostTraverse.en_US.vtt [5.1 KB] || 12905_Post_Traverse_PRORES.mov (1920x1080) [3.6 GB] ||

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] ||

"Eternal Circle," Laurent Dury, Koka Media SACEMComplete transcript available. || ICESat-2_Height_SHORT_prores_youtube_1080.00258_print.jpg (1024x576) [131.1 KB] || ICESat-2_Height_SHORT_prores_youtube_1080.00258_searchweb.png (180x320) [91.2 KB] || ICESat-2_Height_SHORT_prores_youtube_1080.00258_web.png (320x180) [91.2 KB] || ICESat-2_Height_SHORT_prores_youtube_1080.00258_thm.png (80x40) [6.7 KB] || 12663_SHORT_HEIGHT_prores.webm (1920x1080) [27.5 MB] || 12663_SHORT_HEIGHT_prores_facebook_720.mp4 (1280x720) [77.5 MB] || 12663_SHORT_HEIGHT_prores_twitter_720.mp4 (1280x720) [13.9 MB] || 12663_SHORT_HEIGHT_prores_youtube_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [105.2 MB] || 12663_SHORT_HEIGHT_prores_youtube_720.mp4 (1280x720) [103.3 MB] || 12663_SHORT_HEIGHT_prores.mov (1920x1080) [956.6 MB] || 12663_SHORT_HEIGHT.en_US.srt [1.2 KB] || 12663_SHORT_HEIGHT.en_US.vtt [1.2 KB] ||

"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] ||

Operation IceBridge flight over Sermeq Kujatdleq glacier in Greenland || sermeq_greenland_glacier.jpg (2000x1333) [4.4 MB] || sermeq_greenland_glacier_searchweb.png (320x180) [114.7 KB] || sermeq_greenland_glacier_thm.png (80x40) [10.3 KB] || operation-icebridge-sermeq-kujatdleq-glacier.hwshow [316 bytes] ||

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] ||

Sea Level Rising Inteview with Tom Wagner || YOUTUBE_HQ_Tom_Wagner_-Sea_Levels_youtube_hq_print.jpg (1024x576) [128.8 KB] || WEBM_Tom_Wagner-Sea_Levels_1.webm (960x540) [82.0 MB] || WMV_Tom_Wagner-Sea_Levels_1_HD.wmv (1280x720) [39.7 MB] || APPLE_TV_Tom_Wagner-Sea_Levels_1_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [112.3 MB] || APPLE_TV_Tom_Wagner-Sea_Levels_1_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [112.4 MB] || YOUTUBE_HQ_Tom_Wagner-Sea_Levels_1_youtube_hq.mov (1280x720) [369.3 MB] || NASA_TV_Tom_Wagner-Sea_Levels_1.mpeg (1280x720) [687.0 MB] || WEBM_Tom_Wagner-Sea_Levels.en_US.vtt [4.5 KB] || WEBM_Tom_Wagner-Sea_Levels_1.en_US.srt [4.6 KB] || WEBM_Tom_Wagner-Sea_Levels_1.en_US.vtt [4.5 KB] || NASA_PODCAST_Tom_Wagner-Sea_Levels_1_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [36.7 MB] || Tom_Wagner-_Sea_Levels_1.mov (1280x720) [2.6 GB] ||

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] ||

Photon Phriday is a weekly look at what ICESat-2 is measuring as it orbits the Earth. ||