All articles tagged with #retroreflector
In 2010, NASA’s LRO imagery pinpointed Lunokhod 1’s lunar reflector after decades of ambiguity, enabling APOLLO to recover a strong laser return and significantly improve Earth–Moon distance measurements and gravity tests.
A Soviet Lunokhod 1 rover carried a passive laser retroreflector that went silent in 1971; nearly forty years later NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter pinpointed Lunokhod 1’s location, enabling the APOLLO laser-ranging program to re-measure the Earth–Moon distance. The 2010 return was far stronger than typical retroreflector signals (about 2,000 photons, four to five times Lunokhod 2), due to favorable orientation and less degradation. Since then Lunokhod 1 has become a valuable, ongoing part of lunar ranging, supporting tests of general relativity and precise Earth–Moon distance measurements.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) successfully fired a laser at a retroreflector on the Indian Space Research Organization's Vikram lander on the Moon, demonstrating a new method for precision target location. The laser beam was transmitted from the LRO's laser altimeter instrument, confirming the success of the technique. This technological first could pave the way for future space missions to utilize retroreflectors for various applications, although improvements are needed for more precise targeting.