A Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector Array for the 21st Century

Currie, D. G.; Dell’Agnello, S.; Monache, G. O. Delle; Behr, Bradford B.; Williams, J. G.

doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysbps.2013.09.007

Cited by 30 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A laser ranging test mass (LR tm ) can be designed with a dedicated effort, by exploiting the experience of LLR data taking and analysis described above, and especially by taking advantage of existing capabilities for detailed pre-launch characterization of any kind of LRAs and/or test mass for Solar System exploration [63][64][65][66]. Some of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that must be taken into account to design an appropriate LR tm for the signature of new physics described in this paper are as follows.…”

Section: Chandler) a Review Of Llr Data Taking And Analysis Can Bementioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum effects on Lagrangian points and displaced periodic orbits in the Earth-Moon system

et al. 2015

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Recent work in the literature has shown that the one-loop long distance quantum corrections to the Newtonian potential imply tiny but observable effects in the restricted three-body problem of celestial mechanics, i.e., at the Lagrangian libration points of stable equilibrium the planetoid is not exactly at equal distance from the two bodies of large mass, but the Newtonian values of its coordinates are changed by a few millimeters in the Earth-Moon system. First, we assess such a theoretical calculation by exploiting the full theory of the quintic equation, i.e., its reduction to Bring-Jerrard form and the resulting expression of roots in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions. By performing the numerical analysis of the exact formulas for the roots, we confirm and slightly improve the theoretical evaluation of quantum corrected coordinates of Lagrangian libration points of stable equilibrium. Second, we prove in detail that also for collinear Lagrangian points the quantum corrections are of the same order of magnitude in the Earth-Moon system. Third, we discuss the prospects to measure, with the help of laser ranging, the above departure from the equilateral triangle picture, which is a challenging task. On the other hand, a modern version of the planetoid is the solar sail, and much progress has been made, in recent years, on the displaced periodic orbits of solar sails at all libration points, both stable and unstable. The present paper investigates therefore, eventually, a restricted three-body problem involving Earth, Moon and a solar sail. By taking into account the one-loop quantum corrections to the Newtonian potential, displaced periodic orbits of the solar sail at libration points are again found to exist.

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Section: Chandler) a Review Of Llr Data Taking And Analysis Can Bementioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum effects on Lagrangian points and displaced periodic orbits in the Earth-Moon system

et al. 2015

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“…The performance in the IR is also very favorable for new monolithic CCRs, which are smaller but have a better ranging precision. A sparse network of large single corner cubes that could be resolved by a 100 ps laser pulse system would greatly improve the precision of LLR (Currie et al, ; Garattini et al, ). The use of the IR wavelength also increases the number of stations that could enter the LLR community.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Progress in Lunar Laser Ranging at Grasse Laser Ranging Station

Chabé

Courde

Torre

et al. 2020

Earth and Space Science

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Based on a fully passive space segment, the lunar laser ranging experiment is the last of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package to operate. Observations from the Grasse lunar laser ranging station have been made on a daily basis since the first echoes obtained in 1981. In this paper, first, we review the principle and the technical aspects of lunar laser ranging. We then give a brief summary of the progress made at the Grasse laser ranging facility (Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Calern Plateau on the French Riviera) since the first echoes. The current performance, driven by the use of an infrared wavelength laser, is presented in the last section for the year 2018.

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“…Such CCRs are also beneficial in terms of thermal resilience and increased return signal strength. This will improve the ranging accuracy and the resultant scientific parameters by a factor of 10 to 100 [48].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefit of New High-Precision LLR Data for the Determination of Relativistic Parameters

2021

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Since 1969, Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) data have been collected by various observatories and analysed by different analysis groups. In the recent years, observations with bigger telescopes (APOLLO) and at infra-red wavelength (OCA) are carried out, resulting in a better distribution of precise LLR data over the lunar orbit and the observed retro-reflectors on the Moon. This is a great advantage for various investigations in the LLR analysis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the benefit of the new LLR data for the determination of relativistic parameters. Here, we show current results for relativistic parameters like a possible temporal variation of the gravitational constant G˙/G0=(−5.0±9.6)×10−15yr−1, the equivalence principle with Δmg/miEM=(−2.1±2.4)×10−14, and the PPN parameters β−1=(6.2±7.2)×10−5 and γ−1=(1.7±1.6)×10−4. The results show a significant improvement in the accuracy of the various parameters, mainly due to better coverage of the lunar orbit, better distribution of measurements over the lunar retro-reflectors, and last but not least, higher accuracy of the data. Within the estimated accuracies, no violation of Einstein’s theory is found and the results set improved limits for the different effects.

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A Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector Array for the 21st Century

Cited by 30 publications

References 12 publications

Quantum effects on Lagrangian points and displaced periodic orbits in the Earth-Moon system

Quantum effects on Lagrangian points and displaced periodic orbits in the Earth-Moon system

Recent Progress in Lunar Laser Ranging at Grasse Laser Ranging Station

Benefit of New High-Precision LLR Data for the Determination of Relativistic Parameters

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