NASA engineers will test a suite of new laser technologies from an aircraft this summer for Earth science remote sensing. Called lidar, the instruments could
also be used to improve models of the Moon’s shape and aid the search for Artemis landing sites.
“Existing 3D-imaging lidars struggle to provide the 2-inch resolution needed by guidance, navigation and control technologies to ensure precise and safe landings essential for future robotic and human exploration missions,” team engineer Jeffrey Chen said. “Such a system requires 3D hazard-detection lidar and a navigation doppler lidar, and no existing system can perform both functions.”Enter CASALS, the Concurrent Artificially intelligent Spectrometry and Adaptive Lidar System.
The CASALS Team used Goddard IRAD and NASA SBIR funding along with commercial partners Axsun Technologies and Freedom Photonics to develop new fast-tuning lasers in the 1-micron portion of the infrared spectrum for Earth science and planetary exploration. By comparison, commonly available lidars used for self-driving vehicle development typically use 1.5-micron lasers for range and speed calculations.
Artemis-related missions seeking to land near the Moon’s South Pole could also use CASALS’s sharper imaging to help assess the safety of potential landing sites.More detailed 3D models of the Moon drove Goddard planetary scientist Erwan Mazarico’s IRAD effort to refine CASALS’s ability to measure surface details smaller than 3 feet. He said this will help understand the Moon’s sub-surface structures and changes over time.
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