NASA and the International Polar Year

IPY marks the beginning of a sustained effort to understand large-scale environmental change in Earth's polar regions, which have major societal and economic impacts, and to advance new scientific frontiers, from the molecular to the planetary scale. NASA brings a unique perspective to IPY, which will focus on five themes: 1) NASA explores scientific frontiers in Earth's polar regions.; 2) NASA’s long-term measurements of Earth's poles; 3) NASA creates cutting-edge technologies for exploring the poles; 4) NASA's investment in exploring Earth's poles has built the foundation for a new era of scientific exploration at Mars polar regions; and 5) NASA's mission to extend human exploration into the solar system begins with creating a base in the polar regions of the moon.