Rocket scientists build robot probes to gauge melting beneath Antarctic ice shelf

A prototype of a robot built to access underwater areas where Antarctic ice shelves meet land is lowered though the ice during a field test north of Alaska, in March. (US NAVY/SCOTT BARNES/Handout via REUTERS) Conducted through the U.S Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory's biennial Ice Camp, this field test marked IceNode's first in a polar environment. (US NAVY/SCOTT BARNES/Handout via REUTERS)

Engineers who specialize in building NASA spacecraft to explore distant worlds are designing a fleet of underwater robot probes to measure how rapidly climate change is melting vast ice sheets around Antarctica and what that means for rising sea levels.