Airborne lidar aerosol measurements during the ASSESS II mission

During May 1977 the Airborne Science Spacelab Experiments System Simulation (ASSESS II) took place, using the NASA CV 990 aircraft. A ND:glass lidar system, measuring the aerosol mass concentration over large areas, was proxy operated by trained ''Payload Specialists.'' The main part of this paper is concerned with the lidar experiment and its results. The participants in the mission viewed it as a tool for judging their spacelab science management and as the final stage of a guide for future planning of experiments. A general result that has emerged is that, for a real spacelab mission, the handling of remote sensing experiments should be fully automatic.