Delivery of Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite data products will cease on November 1, 2026. Data users should transition now to alternative products from NOAA-21 and NOAA-20.
Suomi NPP data announcement
NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) provided multi-year ice sheet elevation measurements from 2003 to 2009. It fired short pulses of laser light to the surface, using the time they took to reflect back from the surface and return to the satellite to determine surface height.
It measured ice-sheet mass balance as well as cloud and aerosol heights. ICESat revealed cloud properties, including stratospheric clouds over polar regions, as well as surface topography and vegetation data from around the globe.
These measurements included data on changes in the polar portions of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.
Type
Earth Observation Satellite
Data Center
NSIDC DAAC
Launch
January 13, 2003
Objective
Measure Earth's polar ice sheets, clouds, mountains and forests
Instruments Aboard ICESat
| Instrument Name | Operational Date(s) | Spectral Resolution | Type of Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) | Infrared light (1064 nanometers wavelength) and visible green light (532 nanometers) |
Altimeter |
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