A locally developed space project designed to help fight global warming will soon be back in action on the International Space Station.
Known as the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI), the laser makes three-dimensional maps of Earth’s forests – data that is used to measure how much carbon those forests store and would release if burned.
The $94 million laser, developed by researchers at the University of Maryland and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, was initially launched to space in 2018. It was nearly destroyed in recent years, however, to make room for a Department of Defense project on the ISS.
The laser was saved in part by members of Maryland’s Congressional delegation, who intervened on behalf of scientists who said they needed more time to complete GEDI’s mapping mission.
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Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, along with Congressman Steny Hoyer, were among those to help broker a deal with NASA in 2022 to store the laser on the ISS while the Defense project proceeded.
“This is an essential instrument for better understanding how we can protect the world’s forests and what the negative consequences are of deforestation …. We were at risk of losing lots of valuable information for now and for future generations,” Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said in an interview with News4.
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GEDI orbits the globe every 90 minutes and uses sensors to create maps that show the height and shape of trees. Pairing that information with data on the ground, scientists can create carbon databases that University of Maryland researcher Ralph Dubayah said are used by governments and nonprofits alike.
GEDI “is giving us a better understanding of how we can plan and predict for the changes that are coming because of climate,” Dubayah previously told News4. “If we lose GEDI, we're not going to be able to come up with the most accurate estimate of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.”
According to NASA, the laser is expected to resume mapping Earth's trees sometime this summer.
NBC Washington bureau photographer Evan Carr and producer Arielle Hixson contributed to this report.
