EO·Atlas
GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation)
Full-waveform multi-beam spaceborne lidar mounted on the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility of the International Space Station. Developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center under the NASA Earth Ventures Instrument programme (USD 94 million cost cap), with the University of Maryland as science PI. First instrument purpose-built for global 3D mapping of forest canopy structure from orbit. Three Nd:YAG lasers at 1064 nm produce 4 beams via Beam Dithering Unit; each beam is then dithered to produce 2 ground tracks for 8 tracks total. 25 m footprint, 60 m along-track spacing, 600 m cross-track spacing. Coverage 51.6 degrees south to 51.6 degrees north (ISS inclination). Launched December 2018, moved to storage March 2023, reinstalled April 2024, operational since.
GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation) is a full-waveform multi-beam spaceborne lidar mounted on the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) of the International Space Station. Developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center under the NASA Earth Ventures Instrument programme with the University of Maryland as science PI, GEDI was the first instrument purpose-built for global 3D mapping of forest canopy structure from orbit.[1]
Three Nd:YAG lasers operating at 1064 nm produce four beams via a Beam Dithering Unit; each beam is then dithered by approximately 1.5 mrad (~600 m on the ground) to produce two ground tracks, yielding eight tracks in total. Each footprint is 25 m in diameter with 60 m along-track spacing and 600 m cross-track spacing. Full-waveform digitisation at 1 ns intervals (15 cm vertical resolution) captures the vertical structure of vegetation from the top of the canopy to the ground.[2]
Coverage spans 51.6 degrees south to 51.6 degrees north, set by the ISS orbital inclination. GEDI launched in December 2018, was moved to storage in March 2023, reinstalled in April 2024, and has been operational since.[3]
| Methodology | Evidence class | Mission |
|---|---|---|
| Spaceborne lidar altimetry (canopy) | Demonstrated | GEDI |
Pricing not publicly listed by operator
Compositional position
None on record.
- [1]GEDI Instrument Specifications, University of Maryland / NASA Goddardagency doc2026-05-25
- [2]GEDI Instrument Overview, University of Maryland / NASA Goddardagency doc2026-05-25
- [3]GEDI Lidar, NASA Earthdataagency doc2026-05-25