The objective is to develop a LIDAR add-on system capable of supporting range finding, 3D imaging, velocimetry and lander/penetrator pointing in a laser communication terminal architecture, adding minimum infrastructure requirements. ESA's Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) shall be used as baseline for the LIDAR implementation.

A fibre-based deep space optical data terminal incorporates a seed laser, amplitude, frequency and / or phase modulator, optical amplifier and free-space beam forming optic. Provision is also made for coarse and fine pointing. For little additional Size Weigh and Power (SWaP), the architecture can be extended to that of a coherent Laser Imager Distance and Ranging LIDAR. Unlike conventional direct detection and photon counting schemes, it is relatively straightforward with coherent LIDAR to achieve quantum limited detection performance with unsophisticated detectors. In addition the technique is sensitive to optical phase. Availability of phase (and therefore frequency) information allows well established RF sensing and communication techniques to be exploited at optical wavelengths with the associated advantages of lightweight, reliable fibre-optic components and delivery, better directionality from smaller apertures, and higher bandwidths. A breadboard of the 3D imaging mode shall be developed along with convincing paper-based evidence that the other modes are realisable and could be added to the demonstrator. The LIDAR system shall be developed for implementation into the Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) laser communication terminal (Optel-D) and be used for orbital altitudes between 10 and 100 km above the surface of the Asteroid.