ISS Space Sky Laser

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/iss-space-sky-laser

1. What is the instrument type?
2. What is the orbital platform?
3. How does the ISS Space Sky Laser help scientists study clouds and aerosols?
4. Why is the ISS a good place for the laser instead of a geostationary satellite?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the instrument type?Space-based Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) system
2. What is the orbital platform?International Space Station (ISS), providing a global observation perspective
3. How does the ISS Space Sky Laser help scientists study clouds and aerosols?It sends quick laser beams into the sky and measures how the light comes back. By seeing how much light is scattered, scientists can find where clouds and dust are and how thick they are.
4. Why is the ISS a good place for the laser instead of a geostationary satellite?The ISS orbits the Earth many times a day, so it can visit almost every place on the planet. This lets it collect data from many different regions and times, which a satellite that stays over one spot cannot do.

Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging): An active remote sensing technology using pulsed laser light to measure distances and analyze atmospheric composition.
Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD): A measure of how much sunlight is blocked by aerosols in a column of atmosphere.
Cloud Phase: Refers to whether cloud particles are liquid water, ice crystals, or a mixture of both.