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The Laser Ranging Experiment of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: Five Years of Operations and Data AnalysisWe describe the results of the Laser Ranging (LR) experiment carried out from June 2009 to September 2014 in order to make one-way time-of-flight measurements of laser pulses between Earth-based laser ranging stations and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) orbiting the Moon. Over 4,000 hours of successful LR data are obtained from 10 international ground stations. The 20-30 centimeter precision of the full-rate LR data is further improved to 5-10 centimeter after conversion into normal points. The main purpose of LR is to utilize the high accuracy normal point data to improve the quality of the LRO orbits, which are nomi- nally determined by the radiometric S-band tracking data. When independently used in the LRO precision orbit determination process with the high-resolution GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) gravity model, LR data provide good orbit solutions, with an average difference of approximately 50 meters in total position, and approximately 20 centimeters in radial direction, compared to the definitive LRO trajectory. When used in combination with the S-band tracking data, LR data help to improve the orbit accuracy in the radial direction to approximately 15 centimeters. In order to obtain highly accurate LR range measurements for precise orbit determination results, it is critical to closely model the behavior of the clocks both at the ground stations and on the spacecraft. LR provides a unique data set to calibrate the spacecraft clock. The LRO spacecraft clock is characterized by the LR data to a timing knowledge of 0.015 milliseconds over the entire 5 years of LR operation. We here present both the engineering setup of the LR experiments and the detailed analysis results of the LR data.
Document ID
20170002254
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Mao, Dandan
(Sigma Space Corp. Lanham, MD, United States)
McGarry, Jan F.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Mazarico, Erwan
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Neumann, Gregory A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Sun, Xiaoli
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Torrence, Mark H.
(Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Zagwodzki, Thomas W.
(Sigma Space Corp. Lanham, MD, United States)
Rowlands, David D.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Hoffman, Evan D.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Horvath, Julie E.
(Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc. Columbia, MD, United States)
Golder, James E.
(Sigma Space Corp. Lanham, MD, United States)
Barker, Michael K.
(Sigma Space Corp. Lanham, MD, United States)
Smith, David E.
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Zuber, Maria T.
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
March 14, 2017
Publication Date
July 15, 2016
Publication Information
Publication: Icarus
Publisher: Science Direct
Volume: 283
e-ISSN: 1090-2643
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN39941
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG15HZ37C
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNA14AB01A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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