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[music]

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At the beginning of the 21st Century, a growing

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scientific sensitivity to changes in Earth's climate motivated

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several ambitious research initiatives. Among other projects,

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NASA launched a satellite called ICESat, principally designed to

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measure changes in ice volume at the planet's poles. But like all things

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ICESat didn't last forever. That's why NASA is working on a

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second generation of ICESat, designed not only to pick up where the first one

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left off, but advance the quality and quantity of data with more

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contemporary technology. But while waiting for the new spacecraft to blast off

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researchers were concerned they'd miss vital information about

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changing ice. That's why NASA initiated Operation IceBridge

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And that's how we find ourself here

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in a one-of-a-kind flying laboratory a thousand feet above the

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surface of Antarctica. IceBridge is a multi-year mission to collect data from

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the northern and southern icecaps. Using aircraft to fly

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over regions measured by the original ICESat, experts are making new

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measurements bridging the gap between ICESat and ICESat-2

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That way, scientists will have an accurate and above-all

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consistent record of exactly how Earth's ice inventory

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is changing over time. And knowing that is a major step in

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understanding much broader implications about climate change.

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[beep beep, beep beep]