From underwater submersibles to arctic drones, scientists are finding ways to investigate all matter of hazards here on our planet. Which is a good thing since we’d like some advance warning of danger, please.

However, I’m still chuckling over the name of this new NASA drone that is studying sea ice in the Arctic – Vanilla. Because it’s a Vanilla ice drone. But while the name may be a little bit silly and tongue in cheek, the science is real and important. Vanilla uses an onboard radar instrument to measure how much snow is accumulating on top of the sea ice. It turns out, a layer of snow on top of the ice makes it very difficult for NASA’s satellites to determine the thickness of the ice itself, and drones like Vanilla could improve our measurements.

Of course, it’s not exactly easy to fly a drone in the cold Arctic air, especially for longer periods of time, but Vanilla has successfully flown for six hours and more than 220 kilometers over ocean and sea ice. 

The drone launched from Deadhorse, Alaska, which is on the very northern coast of the state and borders the Arctic Ocean. To make sure the drone was cold weather-safe, Vanilla includes heating systems and a special anti-icing coating. It also has a diesel engine which helps regulate heat and doesn’t suffer from the usual cold-weather battery issues we see with cars. Project lead Brooke Medley notes: Drones have come a long way, enough that they can start to be more than just quadcopters flying locally and looking at your neighborhood. Flying drones is ultimately greener and safer than flying large planes, so this checks a lot of boxes.

Drones aren’t just for air shows and package delivery, everyone. They’re also for vanilla ice.

More Information

NASA Goddard press release