Development of A Flash-Lidar Elegant Breadboard Model for Rendezvous Applications

SINTEF is developing a flash lidar breadboard for use in space rendezvous operations. This is funded by ESA through the E3P-Expert program. The lidar is based on a 1.3-megapixel gate-able CMOS silicon sensor and a 532nm diode-pumped, Q-switched MOPA laser. The main case in this project is to detect and track a container with samples from Mars - a 280mm diameter, non-cooperative grey ball - at ranges up to 3km. Possible other applications include recovery of spacecraft or space junk and hazard detection during landing operations. If successful, a flash lidar might become part of the Mars Sample Recovery program. A green laser makes it possible to use a high-resolution silicon image sensor. The laser is very compact: 1.3 liters, 2.3kg and draws 48W at 400Hz. It operates from single shot to 1kHz with pulses up to 4 mJ.