NASA's new CASALS instrument uses a wavelength-steering laser and machine learning to create continuous 3D maps of Earth's surface, eliminating the large unmapped gaps left by traditional lidar systems.
01Summary
- 01CASALS steers light using wavelength instead of mechanical mirrors, generating a continuous 3D swath of the ground below.
- 02The instrument's detector operates at 80% quantum efficiency, enabling it to detect weaker return signals from darker surfaces or denser vegetation.
- 03An airborne prototype flew aboard NASA's B200 King Air aircraft in November 2024 and produced science-quality datasets on its first campaign.
- 04Flying at about five kilometres altitude, CASALS can distinguish individual tree branches with a 22-centimetre horizontal resolution.
- 05The team plans to fly CASALS again in summer 2027 as part of the ASCENT campaign and is working on a space-ready prototype.
02Why it matters
This could give scientists a dramatically more complete picture of forests and terrain, improving our understanding of land cover, carbon stocks, and surface changes.
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