Laser radar illuminates the way to deep space

Artist concept: ESA Moon lander Credit: ESA

Nice report today in ESA web on how laser technology – similar to that used on ATV – is leading to new applications in deep space and on Earth – Ed.

Laser ranging is already used for rendezvous and docking in orbit. When ESA’s ATV cargo ferry docks with the International Space Station it bounces laser beams off reflectors on the orbital outpost to judge the distance to within a couple of centimetres.

For missions deeper into our Solar System, ESA hopes to use 3D imaging lidar to build up a complete picture of targets such as a boulder-strewn surface.

This would be like a stereoscopic imager but it would also work in total darkness or blinding sunlight.

“The 3D imaging lidar we’ve been working on has three main potential applications,” explains Joao Pereira Do Carmo, overseeing the project for ESA.

Full report in ESA web