Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Riccardo Giacconi to Receive National Inventors Hall of Fame's Lifetime Achievement Award
-
Similar Topics
-
By Space Force
SSC’s annual Fight Tonight competition was launched three years ago, seeking to empower solutions in alignment with the critical Space Force mission of ensuring a secure space domain for all.
View the full article
-
By Space Force
Under Secretary of the Air Force Melissa Dalton visited Vandenberg Space Force Base, Nov. 14, to meet with Guardians and Airmen and gain a better understanding of the base’s diverse missions.
View the full article
-
By NASA
NASA researchers Guan Yang, Jeff Chen, and their team received the 2024 Innovator of The Year Award at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for their exemplary work on a lidar system enhanced with artificial intelligence and other technologies.
Engineer Jeffrey Chen tests a lidar prototype on the roof of Building 33 at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Chen and his team earned the center’s 2024 Innovator of the Year award for their work on CASALS, a lidar system enhanced with artificial intelligence and other technologies.NASA Like a laser-based version of sonar, lidar and its use in space exploration is not new. But the lidar system Yang and Chen’s team have developed — formally the Concurrent Artificially-intelligent Spectrometry and Adaptive Lidar System (CASALS) — can produce higher resolution data within a smaller space, significantly increasing efficiency compared to current models.
The true revolution in CASALS is a unique combination of related technologies, such as highly efficient laser and receiver designs, wavelength-based, non-mechanical beam steering, multispectral imaging, and the incorporation of artificial intelligence to allow the instrument to make its own decisions while in orbit, instead of waiting for direction from human controllers on the ground.
“Existing 3D-imaging lidars struggle to provide the 2-inch resolution needed by guidance, navigation and control technologies to ensure precise and safe landings essential for future robotic and human exploration missions,” team engineer Jeffrey Chen said in an earlier interview. “Such a system requires 3D hazard-detection lidar and a navigation doppler lidar, and no existing system can perform both functions.”
The CASALS lidar is being developed to study land and ice topography, coastline changes, and other Earth science topics. Future applications in solar system science beyond our planet are already in the works, including space navigation improvements and high-resolution lunar mapping for NASA’s Artemis campaign to return astronauts to the Moon.
An effective and compact lidar system like CASALS could also map rocky planets like Venus or Mars.
NASA leveraged contributions from external Small Business Innovation Research companies such as Axsun Technologies, Freedom Photonics, and Left Hand for laser and optical technology to help make CASALS a reality.
The Internal Research and Development (IRAD) Innovator of The Year award is presented by Goddard’s Office of the Chief Technologist to a person or team within the program with a notable contribution to cutting-edge technology. The CASALS team was presented their award at a technology poster session on Nov. 6, 2024, at NASA Goddard.
By Avery Truman
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Share
Details
Last Updated Nov 15, 2024 EditorRob GarnerContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Goddard Technology Technology Explore More
5 min read NASA, Industry Improve Lidars for Exploration, Science
NASA engineers will test a suite of new laser technologies from an aircraft this summer…
Article 8 months ago 4 min read Goddard Engineers Improve NASA Lidar Tech for Exploration
Cutting edge innovations by NASA researchers seek to refine lidars into smaller, lighter, more versatile…
Article 1 year ago 3 min read NASA Engineer Earns Goddard Innovation Award for Sun-studying Photon Sieves
Goddard Engineer Kevin Denis receives innovation award for photon sieves.
Article 1 year ago View the full article
-
By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Callista PuchmeyerCredit: NASA Cleveland State University (CSU) inducted Callista Puchmeyer, chief counsel at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, into the CSU College of Law Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Nov. 1.
Puchmeyer provides expert legal advice to NASA Glenn’s center director and other senior leaders. She also manages Glenn’s Office of the General Counsel, a diverse legal staff that advises Glenn clients on a broad spectrum of federal matters.
Established in 2017, CSU’s Law Hall of Fame honors the outstanding contributions of its distinguished alumni, faculty, staff, friends, and community leaders.
Return to Newsletter View the full article
-
By Space Force
The American Indian Science and Engineering Society National Conference brought together thousands of indigenous students, educators and professionals to promote opportunities and celebrate achievements in STEM.
View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.