Return of the Gedi: space mission that maps Earth’s forests saved from destruction

The Gedi sensor uses lasers to measure the structure and health of Earth’s forests, to better understand drivers of biodiversity loss and global heating. Photograph: ISS/Nasa

Nasa has extended the life of a key climate and biodiversity sensor for scanning the world’s forests which was set to be destroyed in Earth’s atmosphere.

The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (Gedi) mission – pronounced like Jedi in Star Wars – was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station (ISS) in December 2018, and has provided the first 3D map of the world’s forests.