Leaders in Lidar

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    ID: 4950 Visualization

    GEDI Forest Height

    Oct. 29th, 2021
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    This visualization depicts a global view of forest height data collected by the GEDI instrument aboard the International Space Station. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2019 and April 2020. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale.Coming soon to our YouTube channel. || The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) produces high resolution laser ranging observations of the 3D structure of the Earth. GEDI’s precise measurements of forest canopy height, canopy vertical structure, and surface elevation greatly advance our ability to characterize important carbon and water cycling processes, biodiversity, and habitat. GEDI’s data on surface structure are also of immense value for weather forecasting, forest management, glacier and snowpack monitoring, and the generation of more accurate digital elevation models. GEDI provides the missing piece – 3D structure – in NASA’s observational assets which enables us to better understand how the Earth behaves as a system, and guides the actions we can take to sustain critical resources. The GEDI instrument is a geodetic-class, light detection and ranging (lidar) laser system comprised of 3 lasers that produce 8 parallel tracks of observations. Each laser fires 242 times per second and illuminates a 25 m spot (a footprint) on the surface over which 3D structure is measured. Each footprint is separated by 60 m along track, with an across-track distance of about 600 m between each of the 8 tracks. GEDI expected to produce about 10 billion cloud-free observations during its nominal 24-month mission length.To learn more, visit the GEDI webpage ||

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  • 
    ID: 4796 Visualization

    Land Ice Height Change Between ICESat and ICESat-2

    April 30th, 2020
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    This visualization depicts changes in Antarctic land ice thickness as measured by the ICESat (2003-2009) and ICESat-2 (2018-) satellites. The camera zooms into a region near the Kamb ice stream to compare ICESat and ICESat-2 beam tracks. The beam intersections are highlighted to explain how the data at these points are used to measure how land ice has changed over time. After exploring a few regions in detail, the camera moves out to a global view and an ocean temperature dataset is revealed. ||

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  • 
    ID: 4734 Visualization

    Measuring Sea Ice Thickness with ICESat-2

    Sept. 6th, 2019
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    This visualization depicts sea ice thickness in the Arctic Ocean as measured by ICESat-2 over the course of several months. The visualization begins with a global view of the north pole as individual tracks are drawn over time representing each time the satellite passes overhead and collects sea ice data. A closeup view of one track is revealed, showing how the ICESat-2 laser can measure ice freeboard (height above sea level), which can be used to calculate total ice thickness. The visualization concludes by showing monthly average of sea ice thickness from November 2018 to March 2019. ||

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  • 
    ID: 13090 Produced Video

    GEDI Media Resources

    Oct. 9th, 2018
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) uses laser pulses to give a view of the 3D structure of the Earth. GEDI’s precise measurements of the height and vertical structure of forest canopy, along with the surface elevation, will greatly advance our ability to characterize important carbon and water cycling processes, biodiversity, and habitat. The mission is led by the University of Maryland, College Park, and the instrument was built and tested at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.GEDI observes nearly all tropical and temperate forests using a self-contained laser altimeter on the International Space Station. GEDI has the highest resolution and densest sampling of any lidar ever put in orbit. This has required a number of innovative technologies to be developed at NASA Goddard.GEDI has three lasers that produce 8 parallel tracks of observations. Each laser fires 242 times per second and illuminates a 25-meter footprint on the surface over which 3D structure is measured. Each footprint is separated by 60 meters along the track, with an across-track distance of about 600 m between each of the 8 tracks. GEDI is expected to produce about 10 billion cloud-free observations during its nominal 24-month mission length.With these observations, GEDI will provide answers to how deforestation has contributed to atmospheric CO2 concentrations, how much carbon forests will absorb in the future, and how habitat degradation will affect global biodiversity. This data is of immense value for forest and water resource management, carbon cycle science, and weather prediction.For more information about GEDI: https://gedi.umd.edu ||

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  • 
    ID: 13049 Produced Video

    ICESat-2 Measures Sea Ice Thickness

    Aug. 22nd, 2018
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    Animation showing how ICESat-2 will measure the height of sea ice freeboard (hf) – the portion of sea ice floating above the water – to estimate sea ice thickness (hi). || ICESat-2 will measure heights or elevations. In order to derive sea ice thickness from those measurements, it will compare the height of the ice with the height of the adjacent open water. The difference is height is the portion of the ice that is above the sea level, called freeboard. Because roughly 1/10 of the ice floe is above water we can calculate its thickness. Very often the only open water nearby is from cracks in the ice (leads) that open and close quickly as the ice drifts about in the polar oceans pushed by ocean currents and winds. ||

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  • 
    ID: 4373 Visualization

    ICESat-2 Orbit

    Nov. 3rd, 2017
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    ICESat-2 orbiting Earth: starting with global view building up ground track, then riding the satellite view, then back to a global view with full ground track || ICESat-2 is a spacecraft designed to accurately measure land and ice elevations on Earth. By comparing observations from different times, scientists will be able to study changes in elevations. ICESat-2 will be in a polar orbit which will provide high coverage near the poles where ice elevations are changing relatively quickly. This visualization shows ICESat-2's polar orbit from afar, then closer up. As we get close to the satellite, the 3 pairs of ICESat-2's ATLAS lidar laser beams begin to resolve. A ground track shows ICESat-2's global coverage which repeats about once every 90 days.The ATLAS lidar on ICESat-2 uses 3 pairs of laser beams to measure the earth’s elevation and elevation change. As a global mission, ICESat-2 will collect data over the entire globe, however the ATLAS instrument is optimized to measure land ice and sea ice elevation in the polar regions.For more information on ICESat-2 click here. ||

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  • 
    ID: 4492 Visualization

    ICESat-2 Measurements Over Antarctica (prelaunch)

    Nov. 9th, 2016
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    ICESat-2 has 3 pairs of lasers that will measure the heights of ice and snow at very high resolution || The ATLAS lidar on ICESat-2 uses 6 laser beams to measure the earth’s elevation and elevation change. As a global mission, ICESat-2 will collect data over the entire globe, however the ATLAS instrument is optimized to measure land ice and sea ice elevation in the polar regions. ICESat-2 reports elevations with respect to a reference surface, called an ellipsoid. In this measurement system, shared by GPS devices, an elevation of zero meters indicates the notional sea level, although tides, wind, and waves can make the actual sea level either greater than or less than zero. The Antarctic ice sheet, shown here, ranges up to 4000m above sea level. Over the course of 91 days, ATLAS will generate 1387 ground tracks across Antarctica for each of it’s 6 beams. ||

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  • 
    ID: 11843 Produced Video

    A Crash On Mercury

    May 12th, 2015
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    After four years of exploring Mercury from orbit, NASA’s MESSENGER mission comes to an end. || Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system and the closest to the sun. Temperatures on the surface can range from a sweltering 840°F during the day to a frigid -290°F at night. Such extremes make the planet especially intriguing to scientists, but a challenge to study. In 2011, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft entered orbit around Mercury. Equipped with a giant heat-protective blanket, the spacecraft made detailed observations at close range using a suite of scientific instruments. The mission came to an end four years later on April 30, 2015, when the spacecraft exhausted its fuel and crashed on the planet. By the end of its survey, MESSENGER had collected more than 250,000 images, allowing scientists to produce the sharpest map of Mercury ever created. Its measurements also revealed many of Mercury’s hidden secrets, including the structure and composition of rock formations seen on its surface. Explore the images to learn more about Mercury and see views taken by MESSENGER. ||

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  • 
    ID: 3896 Visualization

    Mars Roll

    Dec. 28th, 2011
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    A redux of entry #2455 using MGS/MOLA data for the Martian topography and MGS/MOC for the Martian surface color. The animation rolls Mars to show major features of the Martian topography. Major features depicted include: Olympus Mons, Valles Marineris, Hellas Basin, and the Martian North and South Poles. || Animation that rolls Mars around to show all the major features of the Martian topography. This animation begins with a hemispherical view of Olympus Mons and Valles Marineris and then rolls around to reveal the Martian South Pole. While traversing Northward, we pass Hellas Basin and end up looking down up the Martian North Pole. ||

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  • 
    ID: 3686 Visualization

    LRO/LOLA Lunar South Pole Flyover

    March 15th, 2010
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    The Lunar Reconnaissance Oribiter (LRO) was launched on June 18, 2009. Its mission is to map the moon's surface, find safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology. One of the instruments on board is the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) which measures landing site slopes, lunar surface roughness, and has begun generation of a high resolution 3D map of the Moon.This visualization uses Clementine data for the global view of the moon, but then transitions to using only LRO/LOLA DEM with a neutral gray texture when flying around the lunar south pole. The DEM by itself creates an amazingly realistic view of the lunar southpole. As better maps are created from the other instruments aboard LRO, an even clearer picture of the moon will emerge.Please note that this visualization is match-frame rendered to The Moon's South Pole in 3D via LRO/LOLA First Light Data (#3633). ||

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  • 
    ID: 3633 Visualization

    The Moon's South Pole in 3D via LRO/LOLA First Light Data

    Sept. 16th, 2009
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    The Lunar Reconnaissance Oribiter (LRO) was launched on June 18, 2009. Its mission is to map the moon's surface, find safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology. One of the instruments on board is the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) which measures landing site slopes, lunar surface roughness, and has begun generation of a high resolution 3D map of the Moon. The animation depicted here is the beginning of LOLA's mapping project and shows the lunar south pole through digital elevation map data collected by the LOLA instrument during the spacecraft commissioning phase. During the commissioning phase, LRO was in a highly elliptical orbit coming closer to the lunar south pole than the north pole. Furthermore, since LOLA uses laser pulses to measure the surface, the accuracy of its measurements are greatly affected by the instrument's distance to the surface. This is why there is virtually no data of the lunar north pole, and much better coverage of the south pole. The topographic data shown here is currently processed to show at approximately 30 meters per pixel.The colors in this animation depict the relative heights of the lunar surface with respect to the surface mean. Warm colors (brown, red, magenta, and tan) indicate areas above the mean. Cooler colors (green, cyan, blue, and violet) are areas below the mean. ||

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  • 
    ID: 2978 Visualization

    ICESat Lithograph

    Sept. 3rd, 2004
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    This still image was generated to be printed as a lithograph for public distribution. [from the litho:] This image illustrates ice sheet elevation and cloud data from ICESat's Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on its first day of operation, February 20, 2003. On that day, the instrument collected a 1064 nm wavelength profile across Antarctica: the lower West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the foreground is separated from the higher East Antarctic Ice Sheet in the background by the steep TransAntarctic Mountains. The elevation profile (in red) is depicted relative to the Earthandapos;s standard ellipsoid with 50x vertical exaggeration. Data collected across floating sea ice and open water of the adjacent Southern Ocean cannot be shown at this scale. Clouds of various thicknesses are indicated by colors changing progressively from light blue (thin clouds) to white (opaque layers). Note that the laser cannot penetrate the thickest clouds causing gaps in the elevation profile below. The RADARSAT (Canadian Space Agency) mosaic is used to illustrate the Antarctic continent. ||

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  • 
    ID: 20024 Animation

    ICESat Data Accumulation Animation

    Feb. 9th, 2004
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    Accumulating Data: Glas Builds Its Facts One Point at a Time - The technology behind GLAS is called lidar. Lidar is a distance measuring system similar to radar, except that instead of radio waves it uses pulses of laser light for range finding. The name is a contraction based on the words light and radar: Light Detection And Ranging. A lidar system determines precise distances by measuring the amount of time necessary for a pulse of light to leave an emitter, hit a target, and return. In this case, distance measurements helped researchers determine changes in ice thickness, vegetation, cloud thickness, and much more. ||

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  • 
    ID: 2747 Visualization

    ICESat First Light Release: Following ICESat

    May 15th, 2003
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    In this visualization we ride along with the ICESat spacecraft as its laser measures detailed changes in surface topography. This was produced in support of the ICESat first light release. || Animation showing ICESat collecting elevation data || ICESat collecting elevation data || Video slate image reads "ICESat First Light: Following ICESat". ||

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  • 
    ID: 770 Visualization

    A Rotating False Color View of the Martian South Pole from MOLA

    Nov. 22nd, 1999
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    This is one of a series of visualizations showing false-colored renderings of the Martian topography measured by MOLA in the vicinity of the Mars Polar Lander landing site. Blue tones represent elevations of less than 2 kilometers, while reddish tones are greater than about 2.8 kilometers, relative to the mean equatorial height of Mars. The elevation of the landing site is about 2.4 km, midway into the polar layered terrain. The 400 meters (1/4 mile) resolution of the MOLA data gives a smoothed but vertically exaggerated view of the topography. At this scale it is impossible to ascertain the actual roughness at the lander's destination, forcing project directors to make their best guesses based on available data. ||

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  • 
    ID: 1601 Visualization

    Supporting Media for MOLA release

    July 10th, 1990
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    How the spacecraft made the gravity map. Animation by Studio 13. || Evidence of global magnetic field on Mars collected by Mars Global Surveyor (MGS). Animation by Studio 13. || Dramatic asymmetry in structure between north and south. North took longer to cool suggests that there may have once been a northernmartian ocean. Animation by Studio 13. || How MGS made the gravity map. Animation by Studio 13. || Animation of how MOLA takes elevation readings. Animation by Studio 13. || How the spacecraft made the gravity map. Animation by Studio 13. ||

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