AR3000 Laser Sensor Used in the Testing of the Morpheus Lander at NASA Posted in: AR3000 Distance Measurement Sensor – Tags: Aerospace and Defense, AR3000

NASA’s Morpheus Project has developed and tested a prototype planetary lander capable of vertical takeoff and landing. Designed to serve as a vertical test bed for advanced spacecraft technologies, the vehicle provides a platform for bringing technologies from the laboratory into an integrated flight system at relatively low cost. This allows individual technologies to mature into capabilities that can be incorporated into human exploration missions.

NASA’s strategic goal is to extend human presence across the solar system and would include advanced, robust space vehicles for a variety of lunar, asteroid, and planetary missions. The Morpheus project and the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project provide technological foundations for key components of the greater exploration architecture necessary to move humans beyond low Earth orbit.

Acuity Laser is proud to have provided crucial distance measurement sensor technology for this project. The AR3000 is ideal for extremely long-distance applications for monitoring the position of targets and uses pulsed time-of-flight measurement principles to achieve measuring speeds to 2 KHz.

The sensor is designed for industrial environments with NEMA-4, IP67 enclosure ratings, permitting the sensor to be directly rinsed with water. Typical data outputs are serial RS232, RS422 (optional) and current loop 4-20 mA signals.