The use of laser altimetry in the orbit and attitude determination of Mars Global Surveyor

Rowlands, D. D.; Pavlis, D. E.; Lemoine, F. G.; Neumann, Gregory A.; Luthcke, S. B.

doi:10.1029/1999gl900223

Cited by 59 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The MGS spacecraft pointing knowledge is less than 1 mrad after post navigation signal processing [8]. This gives a range uncertainty of 7 meters for a 400km average range, nadir pointing, 1 degree surface slope, and the pointing error in the same direction as the surface slope.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter: receiver model and performance analysis

2000

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The measurement approach, receiver design, data conversion and calibration of the Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (MOLA) are described. The MOLA measurements include the range to the surface, which is determined by the laser pulse time-of-flight, the surface slope determined by the received laser pulse width, and the surface reflectivity determined by the ratio of the transmitted and the received laser pulse energies. The instrument performance is analyzed for these measurements.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter: receiver model and performance analysis

2000

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“…A global database of crossover mismatches can be minimized in a least square sense to improve orbital knowledge. The use of orbit crossovers has been successfully demonstrated to improve orbits of the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft (Rowlands et al 1999), the gravity field of Mars (Lemoine et al 2001), and the radial accuracy of topography (Neumann et al 2001) using observations from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (Zuber et al 1992;Smith et al 1999Smith et al , 2001. Simulations of orbit determination have also been performed for the terrestrial Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) and ICESat missions (Luthcke et al 2000).…”

Section: Tracking Of Lromentioning

confidence: 96%

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Laser Ranging Investigation

et al. 2009

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The objective of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Laser Ranging (LR) system is to collect precise measurements of range that allow the spacecraft to achieve its requirement for precision orbit determination. The LR will make one-way range measurements via laser pulse time-of-flight from Earth to LRO, and will determine the position of the spacecraft at a sub-meter level with respect to ground stations on Earth and the center of mass of the Moon. Ranging will occur whenever LRO is visible in the line of sight from participating Earth ground tracking stations. The LR consists of two primary components, a flight system and ground system. The flight system consists of a small receiver telescope mounted on the LRO high-gain antenna that captures the uplinked laser signal, and a fiber optic cable that routes the signal to the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument on LRO. The LOLA instrument receiver records the time of the laser signal based on an ultrastable crystal oscillator, and provides the information to the onboard LRO data system for storage and/or transmittal to the ground through the spacecraft radio frequency link. The LR ground system consists of a network of satellite laser ranging stations, a data reception and distribution facility, and the LOLA Science Operations Center. LR measurements will enable the determination of a three-dimensional geodetic grid for the Moon based on the precise seleno-location of ground spots from LOLA.

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“…It is also possible to exploit the good horizontal resolution of laser altimetry over sloping terrain to directly correct the horizontal components of a satellite's orbit. Rowlands et al 6) were able to use laser altimetry crossovers from MOLA to recover pointing biases on Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and also strengthen the horizontal components of the MGS orbit as well as the radial.…”

Section: Radar Versus Laser Altimetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite Laser Altimetry. On-Orbit Calibration Techniques for Precise Geolocation.

Rowlands

Carabajal

Luthcke

et al. 2000

rle

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In the thirty years since the launch of the Skylab radar altimeter, satellite-based altimetry has proven to be a powerful tool to map the Earth and other planets. In order to fully exploit an orbiting altimeter, it is necessary to calibrate certain parameters not only before launch, but also after the altimeter is in orbit. Over the years, techniques have been worked out for on-orbit calibration of radar altimeters. Our use of Earth-orbiting satellite laser altimetry began in 1996 with the Shuttle Laser Altimeter. Although laser altimetry presents unique opportunities, it also requires new on-orbit calibration techniques. These techniques are still evolving and include the integration of multiple tracking data types with planned pointing maneuvers over oceans and waveform analysis. This paper describes on-orbit calibration techniques for the several missions that have flown laser altimeters to date and for laser altimeter missions which will launch in the near future.

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The use of laser altimetry in the orbit and attitude determination of Mars Global Surveyor

Cited by 59 publications

References 5 publications

Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter: receiver model and performance analysis

Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter: receiver model and performance analysis

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Laser Ranging Investigation

Satellite Laser Altimetry. On-Orbit Calibration Techniques for Precise Geolocation.

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