View source for Engineering:Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation lidar

{{Infobox spacecraft instrument
| Name = Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation lidar (GEDI)
| Image =
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| Operator = [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]
| Manufacturer = [[Organization:Goddard Space Flight Center|Goddard Space Flight Center]]
| Type = LIDAR
| Function = 3D structure of forests
| Mission_Duration = 2 years
| Began = <!--date operations began (single instruments only)-->
| Ceased = <!--date operations ceased (single instruments only)-->
| Webpage = {{URL|https://science.nasa.gov/missions/gedi/}}

| Mass = 
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| Spacecraft = [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]]
| Launch = 5 December 2018
| Rocket = [[Engineering:Falcon 9 Full Thrust|Falcon 9 Block 5]]
| Launch_Site = Cape Canaveral SLC-40
}}
'''Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation LIDAR''' ('''GEDI''', pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|ɛ|d|aɪ}}) is a [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] mission to measure how deforestation has contributed to atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations.<ref name='GEDI home'>[https://science.nasa.gov/missions/gedi/ GEDI Ecosystem LIDAR]. Home site. Accessed on 1 December 2018.</ref><ref name='New Atlas 2014'>[http://www.gizmag.com/nasa-gedi-probe-3d-architecture-forests/33795/ NASA probe will reveal 3D architecture of forests from space]. Richard Moss, ''New Atlas''. 14 September 2014.</ref> A full-waveform LIDAR will be attached to the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]] to provide the first global, high-resolution observations of forest vertical structure. This will allow scientists to map [[Earth:Habitat|habitat]]s and [[Biology:Biomass|biomass]], particularly in the tropics, providing detail on the Earth's [[Earth:Carbon cycle|carbon cycle]].<ref name='B Insider 2015'>[http://uk.businessinsider.com/nasa-gedi-will-image-the-worlds-forests-in-3d-2015-3?r=US&IR=T NASA has a plan to take the most detailed scans of the world's forests ever]. Pierre Bienaimé, ''Business Insider - UK''. 3 March 2015.</ref>

The Principal Investigator is Ralph Dubayah, at the University of Maryland. The Deputy Principal Investigator & Instrument Scientist is J. Bryan Blair at NASA's [[Organization:Goddard Space Flight Center|Goddard Space Flight Center]].

==Overview==
GEDI was competitively selected as a NASA Earth Ventures Instrument (EVI) mission in 2014. Cost-capped at $94 M, GEDI is led by the University of Maryland in collaboration with NASA [[Organization:Goddard Space Flight Center|Goddard Space Flight Center]].<ref name='GEDI Goddard'>[https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13090 GEDI Media Resources]. NASA [[Organization:Goddard Space Flight Center|Goddard Space Flight Center]]. October 9, 2018.</ref>

[[Earth:Climate change|Climate change]] is closely tied to that of the carbon cycle.<ref name='B Insider 2015'/> GEDI produces high resolution laser ranging observations of the 3D structure of the forests Earth, which will provide answers to how deforestation has contributed to atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations, how much carbon forests will absorb in the future, and how habitat degradation will affect global [[Biology:Biodiversity|biodiversity]] and the [[Physics:Water cycle|water cycle]].<ref name='GEDI home'/> This in turn, is also of value for [[Earth:Weather forecasting|weather forecasting]], [[Biology:Forest management|forest management]], [[Earth:Glacier|glacier]] and snowpack monitoring.<ref name='GEDI home'/> Overall, GEDI will help to better understand how the Earth behaves as a living system.

It launched on 5 December 2018 on board a [[Engineering:Falcon 9|Falcon 9]] and it is part of the [[Engineering:SpaceX CRS-16|SpaceX CRS-16]] mission. It will be mounted on the Exposed Facility of the Japanese ''Kibo'' module for a two-year mission.<ref name='GEDI home'/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/gedi.htm |title=GEDI |work=Gunter's Space Page |first=Gunter |last=Krebs |access-date=August 22, 2018}}</ref> The mission is being led by Professor Ralph Dubayah of the University of Maryland.

==Instrument==

The GEDI instrument is a geodetic-class, light detection and ranging ([[Engineering:Lidar|Lidar]]) laser system consisting of three lasers that produce eight parallel tracks of observations. Each laser fires 242 times per second and illuminates a 25 m spot (a footprint) on the surface over which 3D structure is measured. Each footprint is separated by 60 m along track, with an across-track distance of about 600 m between each of the eight tracks. GEDI is expected to produce about 10 billion cloud-free observations during its nominal 24-month mission length.<ref name='GEDI home'/><ref name='New Atlas 2014'/><ref name='GEDI Goddard'/>

The three HOMER lasers built and installed on GEDI were built by D. Barry Coyle,  Furqan L. Chiragh, and Erich A. Frese.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Biogeochemical cycle}}
{{Global warming}}
{{Satellite and spacecraft instruments}}

[[Category:Satellite meteorology and remote sensing]]
[[Category:SpaceX payloads contracted by NASA]]
[[Category:Spacecraft instruments]]

{{Sourceattribution|Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation lidar|1}}