(CNN) NASA on Saturday launched its most advanced laser device into space to measure changes in the heights of Earth's polar ice, as well as other topographical features.

The Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, launched shortly after 9 a.m. ET from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California.

A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carried ICESat-2 into orbit, where it will travel at speeds of more than 15,000 mph. The satellite is equipped with an Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), which will send 10,000 laser pulses per second to Earth to measure the height of ice sheets, glaciers, forests and bodies of water. It will do this by calculating how long it takes for individual photons that leave the instrument to ricochet off Earth and return to the satellite.

3-2-1... and we have liftoff of @NASA_ICE's #ICESat2 atop @ULAlaunch's #DeltaII rocket 🚀. Tune in as we broadcast live from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California: https://t.co/MIVnfneKo2 pic.twitter.com/xLRiCVcfrK — NASA (@NASA) September 15, 2018

NASA said the mission will add a "third dimension" to its study of Earth. Agency satellites already provide a constant stream of detailed images of the planet's changing geographical features. ICESat-2 will add height measurements -- accurate to a fraction of a centimeter -- to the mix.

Illustration of ICESat-2, a mission to measure the changing height of Earth's ice.

"The precise and complete coverage afforded by ICESat-2 will enable researchers to track changes in land and sea ice with unparalleled detail, which will inform our understanding of what drives these changes," NASA said in a statement

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