Good news, everyone!
I’ve been accepted to participate in the NASA
Social program on
November 3rd, in a day called “Space
Lasers.”
This is going to be awesome and I will spend the day at Goddard
Space Flight Center and:
- Tour the facility where the laser instrument on NASA’s
ICESat-2 satellite – called
ATLAS, for Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System – is undergoing
testing before its 2018 launch
- See the Global Ecosystem and Dynamics
Investigation (GEDI –
pronounced “Jedi”) instrument as it is being built. GEDI launches
in 2019 to the International Space Station, where it will obtain
NASA’s first high-resolution laser ranging observations of the 3D
structure of Earth.
- Learn how all different types of NASA engineers and scientists
use lasers for everything from studying the Earth, to space
communications, to guiding robotic servicing missions.
- Experience one of NASA’s current communications networks in 360
degrees using virtual reality glasses and see a demonstration of
laser communications technology. Participants will learn about how
NASA plans to use lasers to communicate with spacecraft in the
future.
- Visit Goddard’s laser ranging
facility
at night to see a ground laser measure the paths of Earth-orbiting
satellites, supporting both Earth science and missions.
Listen, I said space lasers. So follow me on
Twitter or
Instagram to get more of space
lasers than anyone can take on November 3rd and the following days.
Image by
NASA,
of the James Web Space Telescope, which we won’t be seeing.
