NASA NTRS · 19720006149
The lunar laser ranging experiment
Abstract
With data from two or more well-located observing stations, the lunar range can be corrected accurately for the effects of polar motion and fluctuations in the earth's rotation rate. Very accurate corrections can be made for the earth tides at each station. It appears that the use of lasers giving roughly 0.1-msec pulse lengths is highly desirable. With them, single-shot ranging accuracies of about 3 cm are expected. The actual lunar range results will be analyzed by fitting a numerical integration for the lunar motion to the data. A mathematical model for lunar range is given. Tests of the theory of gravitation are considered.
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Bender, P. L., Dicke, R. H., Wilkinson, D. T., Alley, C. O., Currie, D. G., Faller, J. E., Mulholland, J. D., Silverberg, E. C., Plotkin, H. E., Kaula, W. M.. 1971-11-01. The lunar laser ranging experiment. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19720006149
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