Lidar on Mars: The Movie

Kurt sent me a great movie clip showing an animation of the Optech lidar system on the Phoenix Mars Polar Lander and a series of false-color composite still frames.

You can really see the laser as it reflects off particles in the atmosphere. Note the rather large flash that shows up to the left of the laser. I am not sure what is going on there. Perhaps an accumulation of dust particles?

(if this plays really fast the first time, try playing it again. For some reason, the second time plays slow enough that you can see the flash)