NASA Tests New Diffraction-Based Lidar Instrument
The prototype replaces motorized mirrors with gratings to increase mapping resolution and eliminate data blind spots.
Updated on Oct. 21, 2026 in Quantum Computing
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NASA researchers at the Goddard Space Flight Center developed the Concurrent Artificially-intelligent Spectrometry Lidar System (CASALS), a new instrument designed to eliminate data blind spots. An airborne prototype successfully completed a flight campaign in November 2024.
Why it matters
The system addresses persistent gaps in lidar data by improving how surface measurements are collected, potentially enabling more continuous monitoring of Earth's terrain. It moves beyond traditional motorized steering to improve data acquisition density.
The system utilizes a 1040-nanometer seed laser and a transmission grating to steer light across 256 unique wavelengths, achieving 80% quantum efficiency in its detector array. These metrics mark a shift from traditional motorized mirror-based lidar systems.
The players
NASA
The United States federal agency responsible for aerospace research and development of space-based sensing technologies.
Goddard Space Flight Center
A major NASA laboratory specializing in Earth science and space-based instrument development.
The details
CASALS operates by using a transmission grating—a surface with closely spaced slits that diffracts light—to steer laser pulses instead of relying on mechanical motorized mirrors. A dedicated detector array then converts the reflected photons into electrical signals. By processing these pulses simultaneously across 256 wavelengths, the system achieves a 22-centimeter horizontal resolution while capturing more continuous terrain data from the air.
Timeline
November 2024: Airborne prototype completed its flight campaign.
Summer 2027: Planned ASCENT campaign for instrument testing.
The Tech Race
CASALS represents a shift toward solid-state beam steering in the competitive field of high-precision lidar. This effort tracks alongside NASA's ongoing roadmap to mature sensing technologies for future spaceborne deployment.
This instrument is currently in the airborne prototype phase and is not yet available for commercial or broader scientific deployment. Future iterations aim to integrate this technology into spaceborne missions for enhanced global terrain monitoring.
The takeaway
The system successfully demonstrates a non-mechanical approach to lidar steering that could fundamentally change how we collect earth-surface data. Observers should track the upcoming ASCENT flight campaign in summer 2027 to see if the team achieves the necessary swath width for space-based operations.
What happens next
The research team plans to conduct further flight testing during the ASCENT campaign in summer 2027 to evaluate wider swath capabilities and onboard data processing software.
Further reading
For broader context on emerging sensing hardware, see our coverage of Quantum Computing.
More information
View the current status of the project on the NASA TechPort project entry.
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