Related papers: Laser Ranging for Gravitational, Lunar, and Planet…
Lunar reference systems represent a fundamental aspect of lunar exploration. This paper presents a review of the topic in the context of the ESA lunar programme, MoonLight. This paper describes the current state of the art in the definition…
According to very recent developments of the LARES mission, which would be devoted to the measurement of the general relativistic Lense--Thirring effect in the gravitational field of the Earth with Satellite Laser Ranging, it seems that the…
Analysis of the gauge residual freedom in the relativistic theory of lunar motion demonstrates that lunar laser ranging (LLR) is not currently capable to detect gravitomagnetic effects.
Recent findings on retrograde co-orbital mean-motion resonances in the Earth-Moon system, highlight the potential use of spacecraft in retrograde resonances. Based on these discoveries, this study investigates retrograde co-orbital…
Current thinking about the Moon as a destination has revitalized interest in lunar astronomical observatories. Once seen by a large scientific community as a highly enabling site, the dramatic improvement in capabilities for free-space…
Pulsars are potentially the most remarkable physical laboratories we will ever use. Although in many senses they are extremely clean systems there are a large number of instabilities and variabilities seen in the emission and rotation of…
The regain of interest in Moon exploration has substantially grown in the last years. For this reason, the space agencies consider the development of a precise navigation and positioning service similar to the Earth GNSS. Aiming at some…
The lunar surface has historically been considered an optimal site for a broad range of astronomical telescopes. That assumption, which has come to be somewhat reflexive, is critically examined in this paper and found to be poorly…
The status of experimental tests of general relativity and of theoretical frameworks for analysing them are reviewed. Einstein's equivalence principle (EEP) is well supported by experiments such as the E\"otv\"os experiment, tests of…
In 1970, the Soviet Lunokhod 1 rover delivered a French-built laser reflector to the Moon. Although a few range measurements were made within three months of its landing, these measurements---and any that may have followed---are unpublished…
The successes of previous and current Mars rovers have encouraged space agencies worldwide to pursue additional planetary exploration missions with more ambitious navigation goals. For example, NASA's planned Mars Sample Return mission will…
We describe a new space gravitational wave observatory design called LAGRANGE that maintains all important LISA science at about half the cost and with reduced technical risk. It consists of three drag-free spacecraft in the most stable…
Lunar laser ranging provides a number of leading experimental tests of gravitation -- important in our quest to unify General Relativity and the Standard Model of physics. The Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO)…
The discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe, thought to be driven by a mysterious form of `dark energy' constituting most of the Universe, has further revived the interest in testing Einstein's theory of General Relativity.…
The position of a Martian lander is affected by different aspects of Mars' rotational motions: the nutations, the precession, the length-of-day variations and the polar motion. These various motions have a different signature in a Doppler…
Weak gravitational lensing is a powerful probe of cosmology and has emerged as a key probe for the Dark Universe. Up till now this science has been conducted mainly at optical wavelengths. Current upgraded and future radio facilities will…
Lightning in planetary atmospheres is now a well-established concept. Here we discuss the available detection techniques for, and observations of, planetary lightning by spacecraft, planetary landers and, increasingly, sophisticated…
We introduce the LARES 2 space experiment recently approved by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The LARES 2 satellite is planned for launch in 2019 with the new VEGA C launch vehicle of ASI, ESA and ELV. The orbital analysis of LARES 2…
Machine learning (ML) methods can expand our ability to construct, and draw insight from large datasets. Despite the increasing volume of planetary observations, our field has seen few applications of ML in comparison to other sciences. To…
There is an opportunity to advance both solar system and extrasolar planetary studies that does not require the construction of new telescopes or new missions but better use and access to inter-disciplinary data sets. This approach…