The Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) instrument is an upward facing instrument mounted on the deck of the lander.The LIDAR has two sounding modes, active and passive. During active sounding, It emits pulses of light and by timing their return, determines the altitude of clouds and hazes in the lower Mars atmosphere ( 2-3 km). A small microphone, funded by the Planetary Society, will also be included , so for the first time, we will be able to hear the sounds of Mars, if any.

The LIDAR is provided by the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Science, under the sponsorship of the Russian Space Agency (RSA). The Principal Investigator is S. Linkin.