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02/05/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/05/2026 18:52

UC San Diego-Led Science Team Selected for NASA Satellite Mission

Published Date

February 05, 2026

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Today NASA announced the selectionof a University of California San Diego-led satellite mission for the Earth System Explorers (ESE) program. Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer (EDGE)led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography glaciologist Helen Amanda Frickeris one of two next-generation satellite missions selected to help better understand Earth and improve capabilities to foresee environmental events and mitigate disasters.

The ESE program conducts Earth science missions based on key priorities laid out by the science community and national needs. The selected missions have readiness dates expected to launch no earlier than 2030, with a total mission cost limit of $355 million for each chosen investigation, excluding the launch.

Glaciologist Helen Amanda Fricker will serve as principal investigator for the EDGE mission.

EDGE will provide a transformational advancement of observations of land, vegetation, ice and coastal regions, and is the first NASA satellite mission to be led by UC San Diego.

With Fricker serving as principal investigator (PI), EDGE will be the first global satellite imaging laser altimeter system. Laser altimetry is a technology that sends laser pulses to Earth's surface and records the time it takes them to return to the spacecraft. Scientists then measure how far the laser traveled and how long it took to bounce back to measure the height and structure of Earth's surface. This technology allows scientists to make high-resolution, three-dimensional observations of the structure of terrestrial ecosystems like forests and the surface features of glaciers, ice sheets and sea ice.

"NASA's selection of the UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography-led EDGE mission is a landmark affirmation of our university's world-renowned leadership in space-related research," said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. "UC San Diego continues to push the frontiers of planetary research, informing critical policy decisions and delivering innovative solutions. With this dedicated satellite system, we are expanding our observational purview to global, continuous coverage-the direction in which Earth science is heading. This achievement reaffirms the power of our long-standing commitment to understanding and protecting the planet - an effort that drives scientific discovery and strengthens national security and economic prosperity for the benefit of all."

According to the EDGE team, capturing accurate data in these critical regions is crucial for greater understanding of the state of Earth's systems, as well as national security, global transportation, water resource planning, risk management and providing strategic environmental intelligence to policymakers.

Fricker has worked on NASA satellite missions since 1999. She was a member of NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) Science Team and is the current science team lead for ICESat-2,launched in 2018. Also in 2018, the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI)instrument was deployed onto the International Space Station (ISS), and together these satellites have been vital in monitoring the whole Earth.

"Congratulations to Prof. Fricker and the EDGE team on this transformative achievement," said Meenakshi Wadhwa, director of Scripps Oceanography and vice chancellor for marine sciences at UC San Diego. "As UC San Diego's first PI-lead NASA mission, this is a great example of the ingenuity and leadership of Scripps scientists, whose work helps keep the United States at the forefront of global technological innovation to observe our planet, and deliver in-demand and critically important data to decisionmakers."

"EDGE will deliver greater global coverage than all prior missions combined, giving us the ability to monitor land, vegetation, ice, and coastal regions simultaneously." Scripps Glaciologist Helen Amanda Fricker
EDGE orbit (orange tracks) extends to the polar regions allowing for dense mapping around the edges of ice sheets and sea ice pack. Credit: EDGE.

EDGE is the first swath-mapping lidar in space, building on and advancing the laser technology on GEDI and ICESat-2 through the use of new technologywith an increased density of laser beams that will map the planet using five 120-meter (400-feet) wide strips. This provides much higher resolution and accuracy, enabling a more comprehensive view of the dynamics of the Earth's surface. This unprecedented resolution of the depth, height and structure of terrestrial, polar and coastal systems will bring Earth's features into focus to enable understanding of the processes driving change and provide better situational awareness.

"I am so delighted to lead the EDGE mission, bringing together a cross-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers with a shared goal of developing a next-generation instrument to measure the vital signs of our planet in our most critical regions," said Fricker, who also serves as the director of the Scripps Polar Center. "EDGE will deliver greater global coverage than all prior missions combined, giving us the ability to monitor land, vegetation, ice, and coastal regions simultaneously."

EDGE will be the first global satellite imaging laser altimeter system. Laser altimetry is a technology that sends laser pulses to Earth's surface and records the time it takes them to return to the spacecraft. These measurements allow scientists to make high-resolution, three-dimensional observations of Earth. Image Credit: EDGE.

EDGE aims to expand global coverage of vegetation and dense mapping around the edges of ice sheets and sea ice packs, including Earth's polar regions. To achieve this global coverage, Lanteris Space Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intuitive Machines, expects to build, integrate and deliver EDGE to space on its Lanteris 500™ series spacecraft.

The EDGE teamis comprised of 25 scientists and engineers from around the world. In addition to Fricker, leadership includes deputy PI John Armston from the University of Maryland, and Instrument PI Bryan Blair and Project Scientist Scott Luthcke from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Scientists from the University of Maryland, U.S. Forest Service, George Mason University, Boise State University, U.S. Geological Survey, Bristol University, UCLA, National University of Singapore, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution round out the team for terrestrial ecosystem structure, while the ice elevation team features scientists from the University of Washington, University at Buffalo, Colorado School of Mines, the Australian Antarctic Division and Fricker's alma mater, the University of Tasmania.

With this selection, the mission will advance to the next phase of development. Each mission will be subject to confirmation review in 2027, which will assess the progress of the missions and the availability of funds.

For more information about NASA's Earth System Explorers Program, visit: https://explorers.larc.nasa.gov/2023ESE/.

Learn more about research and education at UC San Diego in: Climate Change

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