2025/02/05 by Slava G. Turyshev, Turyshev, Slava G. · 3 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) #Planetary Science and Exploration #Space Satellite Systems and Control #Spacecraft Dynamics and Control
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2502.02796
openalex publication_date 2025/02/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We present a high-power continuous-wave (CW) lunar laser ranging (LLR) technique that has the potential to significantly improve Earth--Moon distance measurements. Using a 1 kW CW laser at 1064 nm and a 1 m-aperture telescope as an example, we develop a detailed link budget and analyze the prevailing noise sources to assess system performance when ranging to next-generation ~10 cm corner-cube retroreflectors (CCRs). Unlike legacy arrays, these smaller CCRs are designed to yield lower intrinsic range errors, yet their reduced reflective area results in lower photon return rates, posing challenges for pulsed LLR systems. The photon-rich CW approach, by providing continuous high-power illumination, overcomes this limitation, reducing shot noise and enabling sustained millimeter-level ranging with a pathway to sub-0.1 mm precision. Furthermore, by alternating measurements between widely separated lunar reflectors, differential LLR mitigates common-mode station errors to achieve tens-of-micrometer precision, limited primarily by uncorrelated atmospheric turbulence. This scalable approach -- integrating high-power CW lasers, narrowband filtering, and rapid atmospheric turbulence averaging -- enables next-generation gravitational tests, precision lunar geodesy, and improved lunar reference frames in support of planetary exploration.