# NASA’s CASALS lidar aims to map terrain in continuous 3D swaths

> NASA Goddard researchers developed CASALS, a lidar instrument that uses laser wavelengths to scan a continuous ground swath without moving mirrors. An airborne prototype produced science-quality data in 2024 at 22-centimeter horizontal resolution.

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- Publisher: Newsverum
- Section: Science
- Country: United States
- Published: 2026-10-21T19:51:52+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-21T19:51:52+00:00
- Event / data period: 2026-10-21
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NASA plans another airborne flight in a 2027 campaign after widening the instrument’s swath and adding onboard processing. CASALS is not yet space-ready; NASA describes a future spaceborne version as a possibility, not a scheduled mission.

## Data

### NASA update on CASALS

The laser instrument could produce continuous topographic swaths; no space-ready version exists yet.

Methodology: Summary of NASA’s technical article published on this date; reported specifications come from the agency.

| date | label | description | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-21 | NASA publishes an update on the CASALS instrument | NASA details the airborne prototype and next steps; a space version remains in development. | occurred |

Sources: <https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/science-enabling-technology/technology-highlights/nasas-casals-instrument-bridges-gaps-in-3d-maps-of-earths-surface/> · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/nasa-casals-lidar-earth-mapping-2026/data/nasa-casals-lidar-earth-mapping-event?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/nasa-casals-lidar-earth-mapping-2026/data/nasa-casals-lidar-earth-mapping-event?lang=en&format=csv)

## Sources

- [NASA Science](<https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/science-enabling-technology/technology-highlights/nasas-casals-instrument-bridges-gaps-in-3d-maps-of-earths-surface/>) (Source checked: 2026-10-21; Published: 2026-10-21)

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