Chair: TBD – Co-Chair: TBD

Lidar in space is an emerging technology now being developing to fit applications where passive sensors cannot meet current measurement requirements. Lidar technology is evolving rapidly and lidar systems have been used in a number of applications to study the atmosphere, land surface, and ocean. The new and emerging space lidar technologies are focused on highly electrically efficient solid-state or fiber-based laser transmitters, advanced telescope concepts with novel light weight optical and opto-mechnical design of high rigidity and long term stability and low noise, high quantum efficiency, UV-IR photedetector and avalanche photo diodes for direct and coherent detection.

This session will focus on the topics related to new and emerging transmitter, telescope and detector related technology advancement for enabling space-based lidar measurements of winds, carbon dioxide, methane, clouds and aerosols, water vapor, ozone and laser ranging and ice-topography applications.

These laser-based active techniques also face a number of technical challenges. One in particular, the long term reliability of a number of key laser components (diodes, optics, optical coatings) in the vacuum and radiation environment of space, is not as well understood as in the low-radiation, high pressure environment on earth. Due to the relatively high power requirement of many lidar systems, thermal control of space-based lidar systems also presents some unique challenges.

The session will include invited talks describing new and emerging space lidar technologie and their reliability as well as a panel of experts discussing the future thrust for lidar solutions.