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In 2018, NASA is dispatching two new satellite missions whose observations will include Earth’s most critically changing regions – the poles.

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They’re NASA's first new missions in 15 years that will measure how Earth's massive ice sheets are changing.

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Previously thought to be slow-moving and stable,

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the ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica have rapidly lost ice over the last several decades.

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As a result, scientists predict global sea level could be 1 to 4 feet higher by 2100.

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This kind of significant change could increase the rate of warming already in progress and affect global weather patterns.

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But ice sheets aren’t Earth's only frozen spots experiencing critical change.

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Ice sheets, sea ice, glaciers, permafrost, and snow cover are all showing signs of transformation.

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Collectively known as the “cryosphere”, these frozen zones help sustain stable conditions for life on Earth.

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However, rising temperatures worldwide are resulting in ice loss, global sea level rise, thawing permafrost, and more.

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This spring, NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) will launch GRACE-FO,

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continuing the revolutionary gravity measurements of its predecessor, GRACE.

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Designed to observe global surface mass changes, including land ice, sea level, and water on land,

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GRACE was the first satellite to confirm the shrinking of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

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In September,

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ICESat-2 will launch and use its advanced laser

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to measure the thickness of sea ice and the changing elevation of glaciers and ice sheets.

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The mission will provide scientists with a view of how the height of the ice sheets are changing,

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to within less than an inch.

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GRACE-FO and ICESat-2 will be NASA’s newest “eyes in the sky"

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while an extensive field team of researchers collect complementary airborne and ground data about ice,

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snow, permafrost and the role the ocean plays in Earth’s frozen regions.

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Working together,

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these new missions and campaigns will help NASA predict how the cryosphere is changing

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and how those changes will impact the way we live.