New LIDAR uses flash to take a snapshot
Imaging Flash LiDARs (Light Detecting And Ranging) are considered a key enabling technology for future exploration missions and for space operations involving the rendezvous between two spacecraft in orbit. This is a critical advantage against the heavier and more power demanding scanning LiDAR technology.
A TDE activity with CSEM (Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique SA) in Switzerland, has developed a new flash LiDAR (Light Detecting And Ranging) system to enable more precise docking of objects in space.
Lidar systems are under development for several space applications where imaging is needed, such as identification of safe landing sites for vehicles on the Moon, RVS and docking as well as rover driving. Most systems use a scanning technique where they emit a pulse, record the image that is returned then do it repeatedly until over time they can reconstruct the target image. But emitting and receiving tens of thousands of pulses per image, requires a lot of energy and also moving parts such as mirrors to stir the beam across the target surface.
The new technology has developed a flash LIDAR system, which fires the laser pulse just once to highlight the entire area and on the receiving end a large detector is able to record the entire surface at once, like a camera taking a flash photograph.
While this technology facing issues when used for longer distances, it shines when used for rendezvous maneuvers over a few hundred metres of distance, such as docking autonomous vehicles to a space station, it is very precise and very quick, able to see with a 5cm accuracy in typical docking situations.
The technology is highly effective up to around ~1.2km, when the image quality drops.
Next the activity will develop an engineering model for the joint NASA and ESA Mars Sample and Return mission where flash LIDAR technology that could act as a backup technology for guiding a vehicle arriving from the Mars surface to dock with an orbiting spacecraft.
Last but not least, this technology is currently customized for terrestrial use, by attaching it to helicopters or drones where it could assist in detecting avalanche risk areas or possibly to locate people after an avalanche in foggy or low visibility conditions.
TDE activity 4000116355 completed in December 2019.