why scientists are fired up about futuristic space lasers - solar street lighting system

WASHINGTON —Pew, pew, pew!
Epic Laser battles, dense deadly beams penetrating the hull of the starship, cutting off the limbs
Or an instant evaporation of spacecraft, body, and even planets.
It's already a very-loved and time-
Science fiction has been a highly regarded tradition for decades.
But anyone who grabs a hand-held laser pointer to lead a demo or tease a cat knows
The energy version of the laser is quite common today.
The focused light of the laser can be used for microscopic examination, providing targets for weapons, performing certain types of fine surgery, or creating spectacular visual displays at rock concerts.
Laser is often used in space.
Not as a weapon, but to help scientists with highly accurate measurements and observations, a group of NASA engineers and designers explained this in a group at the Future Conference in June 16. [
The most dangerous space weapon ever.
Luis Ramos said: "If you were ever surprised by the very detailed Mars terrain in geobrotron Google Mars, you have a laser to thank you
Izquierdo is an optical system engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. For four-and-a-
Laser height gauge of Mars orbiter (MOLA)
According to NASA, the laser is used to collect data on the surface height of Mars, which is used to generate the most detailed global topographic map of any planet in the solar system.
Dynamic survey of global ecosystem (GEDI)
Ramos said that it is planned to launch in 2019 and will use laser technology to make 3D maps of the Earth's forests and calculate their biomassIzquierdo said.
Another NASA mission is to probe the earth with a laser called ICE, Cloud and land ascension satellites ". 2 (ICESat-2).
ICESat is scheduled to launch in 2018-
2 will use an array of six lasers-
Three beams in pairs. to track ice-
Ice thickness and changes in Greenland and Antarctica, so that scientists can better estimate the risks of melting ice due to climate change, team member Brooke medley, earth science remote sensing research assistant at Goddard Space Flight Center told future audiences. ICESat-
2 Ongoing work on early mission ICESat
According to NASA, it was the first satellite to launch a laser from space to measure the surface height of Greenland and the Antarctic ice sheet.
The ice coverage in these two areas is huge: Greenland is about three times the size of Texas, and Antarctica is about twice the size of the United States.
Medley said it was too big to accurately measure elevation changes on the ground or aircraft. ICESat-
2 will pass many times at an altitude of 299 miles (481 kilometers)
Its laser will collect data, enabling researchers to calculate the volume of ice and track changes over time.
Another NASA satellite similar to a mirror
Disco Ball
Laser Earth Dynamics satellite (LAGEOS)—
Since its launch in 1976, the laser emitted from Earth has been reflected back, returning data that enabled scientists to create the first model of the Earth's gravitational field.
Currently, there are two LAGEOS satellites in orbit and their orbit is very stable unless there is a space debris colliding with them, according to panel member Evan Hoffman, they will hover on Earth for at least 1 million to 2 million years, and he is a scientist at the Goddard Space Earth survey project.
Near the moon, the Lunar Orbiter Laser orbiter on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter uses lasers in orbit to collect billions of data points from the moon's surface, enabling scientists to map the most detailed lunar terrain so far, erwan Mazarico, research assistant for Goddard's Planetary Studies, said in a panel of experts.
Jennifer Sagel, chief systems engineer and project manager at Goddard's center for science and planetary operations control, told the group audience that lasers also helped NASA researchers bring broadband to the moon.
The moon laser communication demo tested two
Sagar said that the communication system using a pulse laser beam between the Earth and the Moon established a data download rate of 622 megabits per second.
Researchers are even working on whether lasers can be used for defense in space.
Hoffman added, not to fight the invading aliens, but to push aside space debris that could damage equipment or threaten astronauts.
At meetings like the future conference
Special enthusiasm for the real
The world science behind their favorite science fictionfi moments —
Mazarico told Space to allow all the scientists in the group to discuss some of the more interesting aspects of their research, although the whole presentation was less than an hour. com.
But each group member can happily talk about the laser for a longer time, Ramos-Iskiydo.
"In fact, any one of us can talk about our work and what we do --
Ramos: "I could have gone on . "Izquierdo said.
"But they got all kinds of things that we did at NASA, and maybe how it all came together, and that's good --
To communicate, to map the Earth, to explore.
"We have to do all the work now to make science fiction a reality," he said . ".
Mazarico told space magazine that talking about space lasers at future conferences also brought NASA's science directly to children and may encourage the next generation of engineers and scientists. com.
Medley added that giving children a chance to know the people behind the laser could help them see their characters as adults.
"We are just people you may have passed by on the street," she said . ".
"Science is not out of reach --
This is something anyone can touch.
Original article about space. com .