ASTID

A Compact Lidar for High Resolution Measurements of Trace Gases

PI: Haris Riris

Our team will continue the development of a diode-laser seeded fiber-based lidar that can, for the first time, enable space-based measurements of the trace gases, with high spatial resolution and sensitivity, using measurements in the 3-4 mm band. This work is directly relevant to NASA’s Strategic Goals and Outcomes: Advance scientific knowledge of the origin and history of the solar system; explore the potential for life elsewhere.
Our work also addresses NASA’s Astrobiology Roadmap 2008, “How does life begin and evolve?”; “Does life exist elsewhere in the Universe?” Answering many fundamental questions about planetary atmospheres requires monitoring of the atmosphere with unprecedented accuracy to both high and low latitudes, over both day and night and all seasons. Only orbiting laser remote sensing instruments are capable of such global coverage and accuracy. Differential Absorption Lidar techniques are well established, and can map trace gas concentrations from orbit on a global scale. Tunable lidar measurements can identify sources of possible biogenic gases, such as trace gas plumes produced by localized subsurface biology, and aid in the search for extra-terrestrial life. Our project will make high spatial resolution measurements of the concentration of methane, formaldehyde, ethane, carbon dioxide, water vapor and their isotopes. These high-resolution maps of gas concentrations will enhance our understanding of the current state of planetary atmospheres and geology. The goal of this work is to advance the technology readiness of our existing breadboard instrument for future astrobiology missions and if possible, provide an airborne demonstration. Our choice of laser technology, which is highly leveraged by the commercial and defense sectors, will advance the technology for a large range of instrumentation for a wide set of astrobiology missions. Our proposed work benefits from considerable leverage and equipment from our ongoing NASA ESTO (IIP) and GSFC IRAD programs.