NASA image: Wonders in the Antarctic sky
Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - 06:00
in Astronomy & Space
In 43 hours across five science flights in late November 2013, NASA's P-3 research aircraft collected more than 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) worth of science data. Instruments gathered information about the thickness of the ice over subglacial lakes, mountains, coasts, and frozen seas. The flights over Antarctica were part of Operation IceBridge, a multi-year mission to monitor conditions in Antarctica and the Arctic until a new ice-monitoring satellite, ICESat-2, launches in 2016.