Lidar Lasers: A Safe Technology The LVIS laser instrument on the NASA aircraft poses no threat to humans or forests. LVIS uses a standard 1.5-watt industrial laser operated according to standards established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). During its mapping flights, the LVIS laser is fired 300 times a second as it quickly scans across the flight path of the aircraft. The tiny beam is about the size of a laser pointer beam when it leaves the aircraft and is safe to touch. (If you stood next to the plane and placed your hand in the path of the laser beam, you would not feel any heat.) By the time the laser beam reaches the ground it has spread out to more than 75 feet across. Like a laser pointer, the LVIS laser beam is unsafe to look into directly from close up. But, following the ANSI standards, the LVIS laser is safe to the eye when seen from a distance of half a mile. LVIS will be turned on during its mapping flights only when the plane is more than 4 miles above the ground. Because of the way the laser beam spreads out, it will be about 50 times safer at the ground than required by ANSI standards. An observer on the ground looking up at the plane when the laser is fired would not see any flash of light. back: Applications to Forest Management Needs return to: Earth Observatory Library		Vegetation Canopy Lidar Science Objectives A New Application of Lidar Technology Applications to Forest Management Needs Lidar Lasers: A Safe Technology

	Subscribe to the Earth Observatory About the Earth Observatory Contact Us Privacy Policy and Important Notices Responsible NASA Official: Lorraine A. Remer Webmaster: Goran Halusa We're a part of the Science Mission Directorate