In its early days, the AGIC's goal was to provide basic mapping and GIS services for the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), and was only a two-man project.

In March 2011, the program was "classified as a National Science Foundation cooperative agreement" and adapted to take responsibility for Arctic as well as Antarctic operations, hence the name change to PGC.

The PGC utilizes geospatial and remote sensing technology to work with research teams and solve problems.

[3] The PGC provides high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from stereoscopic optical imagery.

[5] The PGC employs individuals skilled in cartography and GIS to create custom maps of areas for researchers preparing to head into the field.