NASA | Laser Focus

ICESat-2's instrument, ATLAS, is designed to measure heights on Earth. ATLAS has three main tasks: transmitting a pattern of six laser beams, collecting the laser photons that return to the satellite after reflecting off Earth, and recording the travel time of those photons. First up – transmitting the laser. In this video, optical engineer Tyler Evans illustrates how the laser is transmitted from the ATLAS instrument to the ground.