a radically new optoelectronics concept with two critical advances: 1) a greater than 10x reduction in size, weight, power, and cost by using a novel optical architecture 2) GRAAL's optical path inherently provides a dual-channel capability for multi-sensor configurations such as imaging + lidar or hyperspectral sensing + lidar. GRAAL delivers similar science performance to ICESat-2’s ATLAS lidar instrument using. GRAALis an ultra-compact time-of-flight ranging lidar for Earth observation from Low Earth Orbit (LEO), designed to address key observational priorities including ice sheet thickness, forest canopy thickness, and smoke and cloud cover.
We propose to develop the Earth Compact lidar for Height and altitude Observations (GRAAL). This is a challenging problem as state-of-the-art space based lidar systems operate at the edge of physical limits. To meet critical science needs for the upcoming decade in Earth Observation, new technologies are required that reduce lidar size, weight, power, and cost while retaining efficiency, reliability, lifetime, and high performance. Technical Abstract (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words):
