Science

PREFIRE-2

NASA Polar Heat Radiation CubeSat · NASA JPL / Blue Canyon Technologies

PREFIRE-2, one of two NASA shoebox-sized CubeSats launched weeks apart in 2024 to answer a surprisingly basic question nobody had ever precisely measured: exactly how much heat does Earth's polar ice actually radiate back into space? For decades, roughly 60% of that far-infrared energy escaping from the Arctic had never been directly measured — a genuine gap in understanding why the Arctic is now warming two and a half times faster than the rest of the planet. PREFIRE's twin satellites fly in a deliberately staggered orbit, passing over the same polar location hours apart, catching how quickly clouds and weather change the heat signature beneath them. NASA extended the mission through 2026 and broadened its focus from just the poles to the whole planet.