Nasa launches satellite to track global ice melt

Nasa’s

most advanced space laser satellite blasted off yesterday on a mission to track ice loss around the world and improve forecasts of sea level rise as the climate warms.

The $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion), half-tonne ICESat-2 launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force base in California at 6.02am (1302 GMT).

The launch marks the first time in nearly a decade that Nasa has had a tool in orbit to measure ice sheet surface elevation across the globe. (AFP)