Editing Lidar (section)

===Spaceflight===

Lidar is increasingly being utilized for [[Situation awareness|rangefinding]] and [[orbital element]] calculation of [[relative velocity]] in [[proximity operations]] and [[orbital stationkeeping|stationkeeping]] of [[spacecraft]]. Lidar has also been used for [[atmosphere|atmospheric]] studies from space. Short pulses of laser light beamed from a spacecraft can reflect off tiny particles in the atmosphere and back to a telescope aligned with the spacecraft laser. By precisely timing the lidar echo, and by measuring how much laser light is received by the telescope, scientists can accurately determine the location, distribution and nature of the particles. The result is a revolutionary new tool for studying constituents in the atmosphere, from cloud droplets to industrial pollutants, which are difficult to detect by other means.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/LITE.html |title=NASA – Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) |publisher=Nasa.gov |date=2011-08-25 |access-date=2013-05-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|author1=D.M. Winker |author2=R.H. Couch |author3=M.P. McCormick |title= An overview of LITE: NASA's Lidar In-space Technology Experiment|journal=Proceedings of the IEEE |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=164–180 |doi=10.1109/5.482227 |date=2011-09-27 }}</ref>

Laser altimetry is used to make [[Digital elevation model|digital elevation map]]s of planets, including the [[Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter]] (MOLA) mapping of Mars,<ref>Bruce Banerdt, [https://mars.nasa.gov/MPF/martianchronicle/martianchron3/marschro35.html Orbital Laser Altimeter], ''The Martian Chronicle, Volume 1'', No. 3, NASA.gov. Retrieved 11 March 2019.</ref> the [[Lunar Orbital Laser Altimeter]] (LOLA)<ref>NASA, [https://lola.gsfc.nasa.gov LOLA]. Retrieved 11 March 2019.</ref> and Lunar Altimeter (LALT) mapping of the Moon, and the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) mapping of Mercury.<ref>John F. Cavanaugh, ''et al.,'' "[http://www-geodyn.mit.edu/cavanaugh.mla.ssr07.pdf The Mercury Laser Altimeter Instrument for the MESSENGER Mission]", ''Space Sci Rev'', {{doi|10.1007/s11214-007-9273-4}}, 24 August 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2019.</ref> It is also used to help navigate the [[Ingenuity (helicopter)|helicopter ''Ingenuity'']] in its record-setting flights over the terrain of [[Mars]].<ref name="ieee-2021" />