Simulation study for the NASDA mission demonstration satellite lidar (ELISE)

The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) is currently developing a new spaceborne lidar system, the so-called Mission Demonstration lidar (MDS-lidar) or Experiment Lidar In Space Equipment (ELISE). The system will be launched in the early 2000´s. Its goals are to demonstrate the applicability of some key components for the long-term operation of a lidar in space and to provide scientific data from one year observations for climatological studies. At present a simulation study is conducted to estimate ELISE´s performance for observations of clouds and aerosols. Due to the global measurement coverage a broad range of atmospheric conditions has to be considered. We will present simulation results regarding system calibration and quantitative measurements with ELISE.