The Global Ice-Sheet Mapping Observatory (GISMO) spaceborne radar system was a part of the NASA Instrument Incubator Project (IIP). The IIP program was designed to provide a testing opportunity for emerging technology in order to create smaller and more efficient flight instruments. GISMO had a specific focus in measuring the surface topography of ice sheets, ice-sheet thickness, and in uncovering physical properties of the glacier bed using synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
The GIMSO project lasted for three years and had documented flight lines over the Greenland Ice Sheet in 2006, 2007, and 2008. It utilized VHF and P-band interferometric radars and tested different methods of clutter rejection in order to find the method most suitable for the project’s focus.
GISMO achieved mapping the physical properties of a glacier bed through up to 5 km of ice. It also created an effective clutter rejection technique for measuring the ice sheet’s surface and base. GISMO has applications in predicting the effects of climate change on ice sheets and in exploring planets with icy areas.