NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Operation IceBridge 2009

ED09-0284-25

The Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor, or LVIS, instrumentation rack awaits loading on NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., for the Fall 2009 Operation Ice Bridge deployment to the Antarctic. Developed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., the LVIS is an aircraft-based laser altimeter that collects data on topography and vegetation coverage. The six-week IceBridge mission flights are staged from Punta Arenas, Chile.

September 29, 2009

NASA Photo / Tom Tschida