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Lidar Atmosphere Sensing Experiment (LASE)

Status

Status: 
Retired
Operated By: 
PI
Replaces: 
Differential Absorption Lidar

John Hair, standing, and Susan Kooi, of Langley’s Science Directorate, monitor data in real time from the Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE)

The Differential Absorption Lidar uses the backscatter of two simultaneous laser wavelengths through zenith and nadir windows to measure the vertical profiles of H2O and aerosols/clouds.

NASA's Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) system is an airborne DIAL (Differential Absorption Lidar) system used to measure water vapor, aerosols, and clouds throughout the troposphere. LASE probes the atmosphere using lasers to transmit light in the 815-nm absorption band of water vapor. Pulses of laser light are fired vertically below the aircraft. A small fraction of the transmitted laser light is reflected from the atmosphere back to the aircraft and collected with a telescope receiver. The received light indicates the amount of water vapor along the path of the laser beam.

Instrument Type: 
Lidar
Measurements: 
H2O, Aerosol Backscattering
Aircraft: 
DC-8 - AFRC, P-3 Orion - WFF
Recent Missions: 
GRIP (DC-8 - AFRC); NAMMA (DC-8 - AFRC); CAMEX 4 (DC-8 - AFRC); TC4 (DC-8 - AFRC); SOLVE (DC-8 - AFRC); CAMEX 3 (DC-8 - AFRC)
Complete mission list:
Point(s) of Contact: 
Syed Ismail (Prev PI), Richard Ferrare (PI), Johnathan W. Hair (Co-I), Ed Browell (Prev PI), Amin R. Nehrir (POC; PI)