LITE (Lidar In-space Technology Experiment)

The Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) was a three-wavelength backscatter lidar that flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-64 in September 1994, making it the first atmospheric lidar to operate in Earth orbit. Developed at NASA Langley Research Center, the instrument transmitted simultaneously at 355 nm, 532 nm, and 1064 nm; agency documentation lists all three wavelengths,^[1][2] while the stub entry had recorded only the 532 nm channel as primary. LITE collected backscatter profiles of clouds, aerosols, and planetary boundary layer structure over a range of geographic regions during its shuttle mission. Data products are archived at the NASA Atmospheric Science Data Center.^[3] LITE served as a technology pathfinder for subsequent spaceborne lidar missions; CALIOP on CALIPSO and CATS on the ISS carry forward its elastic-backscatter measurement approach.