Glaciers across the globe have lost over nine trillion tonnes of ice in half a century. How will glaciers look over the coming decades? “It all depends on what humans are doing now in terms of greenhouse gas emissions:” this is the message one scientist delivered during an ESA-led expedition to the Gorner Glacier in Switzerland – one of the biggest ice masses in the Alps.

As world leaders gather for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties, watch the exclusive premiere of the documentary that follows ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, along with a team of glaciologists and climate experts, on their journey across the Alps to learn how rising global temperatures are taking their toll on glaciers.

The documentary features breathtaking scenery of the Gorner Glacier as well as interviews with climate specialists as they explain how we can monitor glaciers using both satellite data and in situ measurements.

The documentary features interviews with:

Luca Parmitano, ESA astronaut

Simonetta Cheli, Head of Strategy, Programme & Coordination Office, Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes, ESA (as of 1 January 2022: ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes)

Susanne Mecklenburg, Head of ESA’s Climate Office

Anna Maria Trofaier, Cryosphere scientist, ESA Climate Office

Frank Paul, Senior Researcher at the University of Zurich

Alessio Romeo, Geologist at La Venta – Esplorazioni Geografiche

Daniel Farinotti, Glaciologist at ETH Zurich