Control, Monitoring and Operation Software of a Miniaturized Lidar for Mars Atmospheric Research
- Paper ID
102287
- DOI
- author
- company
Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial (INTA); INTA-CSIC
- country
Spain
- year
2025
- abstract
The development of a space instrument involves multiple iterations of design and prototyping, along with validation campaigns at different levels. To support this process, Ground Support Equipment (GSE) plays an important role, including software applications that are part of the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE), which facilitates instrument testing and operational control.\newline This work presents the development of the COPS SW, a software application designed for the control, monitoring, and operation of LiDAR instruments. Created as part of the Miniaturized LiDAR for Mars Atmospheric Research (MiLi) project, this software serves as the interface between the instrument and its operator, enabling real-time control, telemetry monitoring, and scientific data processing. Developed with a modular architecture, it ensures smooth interaction with the LiDAR’s laser drivers, detectors, thermal control, and data acquisition systems through the instrument’s processing unit, allowing flexible adaptation to different operational modes and test conditions.\newline The COPS SW includes real-time control mechanisms, such as a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller for maintaining thermal stability of MiLi’s lasers, detectors, and polarizers under diverse operational scenarios.\newline The graphical user interface (GUI) provides dedicated views for LiDAR signal visualization, system diagnostics, and parameter evolution tracking. Signal processing techniques, such as background subtraction, range correction, and Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) optimization, improve data accuracy for scientific interpretation. Additionally, comprehensive data logging and telemetry analysis enable detailed post-processing, performance assurance, and long-term system validation.\newline COPS SW plays a role in the operation, validation, and optimization of the MiLi instrument, a LiDAR prototype designed to enhance the characterization of Martian aerosols and clouds by retrieving atmospheric parameters such as the particle backscatter coefficient, particle linear depolarization ratio, lidar ratio, and color ratio. By providing real-time control, telemetry monitoring, and adaptive data processing, it ensures precise system management under varying environmental conditions, supporting the overall functionality and efficiency of the instrument.