Project description
Tiny, power-efficient LIDAR to explore the Martian atmosphere
The planet Mars has a complex climate, highly variable and only partly understood. The study of its atmosphere is of paramount importance for understanding the planet’s climate evolution and its influence on potential past and present life, as well as for identifying potential risks its constituents may entail for future human crews and support equipment. Atmospheric LIDARs, a class of instruments using laser light to study aerosol particle size and density in Earth’s atmosphere, could be used to also examine atmospheric dust and ice-based clouds on Mars. However, as LIDAR equipment is typically heavy and consumes a lot of power, it cannot be easily used aboard landers for planetary exploration. The EU-funded MiLi project plans to design a compact, low-power LIDAR that will provide the most precise characterisation of the suspended dust and clouds in the Martian atmosphere to date.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-AG - HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based
Coordinator
28850 Torrejon De Ardoz Madrid
Spain
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Participants (4)
20133 Milano
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28006 Madrid
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M3JIP3 Toronto
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07747 Jena
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.