In recent years researchers have discovered many new and troubling facts about the Earth's atmosphere and how natural and human processes are affecting it. We are only now beginning to understand how air pollution can effect the air we breathe, and how it can be damaging to the earth's ozone layer that protects us from harmful ultraviolet rays.

Knowledge we've learned about our atmosphere has come from conducting airborne experiments onboard different NASA research aircraft. These aircrafts are equipped with sophisticated lasers in instruments called LIDAR's. LIDAR can remotely detect even the most minute changes in our atmosphere.

Destination Tomorrow spoke with Dr. Edward Browell of the Atmospheric Sciences Division at NASA Langley Research Center to find out more about LIDAR, and how it's being used to change our understanding of our fragile atmosphere.