Development of the Airborne Lidar Surface Topography Simulator

摘要

In 2008 we began a three-year NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) funded Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) focused on technology development for the Lidar Surface Topography (LIST) mission. The LIST mission is one of the Earth Science Decadal Survey missions recommended to NASA by the National Research Council (NRC). Our IIP objective is to demonstrate the measurement approach and key technologies needed for a highly efficient swath mapping lidar to meet the goals of the LIST mission. To demonstrate the concept we are developing the Airborne LIST Simulator (A-LISTS) instrument. In this paper we summarize the A-LISTS instrument characteristics and the approaches we are using to advance lidar capabilities and reduce risks for LIST.