NASA's CASALS Instrument Aims to Fill Gaps in 3D Maps of Earth's Surface

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Current space-based laser instruments collect Earth's forest and terrain measurements only along narrow lines, leaving vast areas unmeasured. Millions of acres of land therefore remain without direct scientific observation. NASA's CASALS instrument is designed to address this limitation by pairing machine learning with a compact lidar system. The combination would allow the instrument to adaptively sweep across large sections of the planet's surface. The approach is intended to produce more complete three-dimensional maps of Earth's terrain and vegetation.

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