COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — NASA has chosen a University of Maryland proposal for a new instrument to observe changes in global vegetation from the International Space Station.

NASA announced Wednesday that the laser-based system will observe the structure of forest canopy. The instrument will be completed in 2019 and will not cost more than $94 million. NASA says sensors will give scientists new ways to see how forests and ecosystems are affected by changes in climate or land use change.

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