Related papers: Timing calibration of the APOLLO experiment
A next-generation lunar laser ranging apparatus using the 3.5 m telescope at the Apache Point Observatory in southern New Mexico has begun science operation. APOLLO (the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation) has achieved…
The Apache Point Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO) has been collecting lunar range measurements for 15 years at millimeter accuracy. The median nightly range uncertainty since 2006 is 1.7 mm. A recently added Absolute Calibration…
The Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO) has produced a large volume of high-quality lunar laser ranging (LLR) data since it began operating in 2006. For most of this period, APOLLO has relied on a…
We present data from the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO) covering the 15-year span from April 2006 through the end of 2020. APOLLO measures the earth-moon separation by recording the round-trip travel time of…
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 Earth-Moon-Sun system has traditionally provided the best laboratory for testing the strong equivalence principle. For a decade, the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO) has been producing the world's best…
Accurate analysis of precision ranges to the Moon has provided several tests of gravitational theory including the Equivalence Principle, geodetic precession, parameterized post-Newtonian (PPN) parameters $\gamma$ and $\beta$, and the…
The Apache Point Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO), in NM, can detect photon bounces from retro-reflectors on the moon surface to 0.1ns timing resolution. This facility enables not only the detection of light speed anisotropy, which…
Lunar laser ranging has provided many of the best tests of gravitation since the first Apollo astronauts landed on the Moon. The march to higher precision continues to this day, now entering the millimeter regime, and promising continued…
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measurements were made within three months of its landing, these measurements---and any that may have followed---are unpublished…
Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) measurements are crucial for advanced exploration of the evolutionary history of the lunar orbit, the laws of fundamental gravitational physics, selenophysics and geophysics as well as for future human missions to…
The Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) experiment provides precise observations of the lunar orbit that contribute to a wide range of science investigations. In particular, time series of highly accurate measurements of the distance between the…
Precise measurements of the Earth-Moon distance by the lunar laser ranging (LLR), which begun in the early 1970's, contributed significantly to geodesy, geophysics, and lunar planetology, as well as enabled astrophysicists to perform…
Understanding telescope pointing (i.e., line of sight) is important for observing the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and astronomical objects. The Moon is a candidate astronomical source for pointing calibration. Although the visible…
We analyze the impact of the installation of a lunar laser ranging device on the NTT 3.6m ESO telescope. With such an instrument, the scientific communities of fundamental physics and solar system formation will highly benefit of the only…
The Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) experiment has accumulated 50 years of range data of improving accuracy from ground stations to the laser retroreflector arrays (LRAs) on the lunar surface. The upcoming decade offers several opportunities to…
This paper provides an overview of the Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) experiments. The measurement principle is explained and its theory is derived. Both contributions, the direct reflected light from retroreflectors as well as the scattered…
Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) measurements are crucial for advanced exploration of the laws of fundamental gravitational physics and geophysics. Current LLR technology allows us to measure distances to the Moon with a precision approaching 1…
Forty years ago, Apollo astronauts placed the first of several retroreflector arrays on the lunar surface. Their continued usefulness for laser-ranging might suggest that the lunar environment does not damage optical devices. However, new…
Space debris is a major problem for all space-active nations. Adopting high precision measuring techniques will help to produce the reliable and accurate catalogue for space debris and collision avoidance. Laser Ranging is a kind of…