NASA hopes to discover the moon with next-generation retroreflector

Apollo astronauts will place a mirror array, or “retroreflector,” on the moon’s surface to accurately reflect laser light emitted from Earth with minimal scattering or dispersion. A retroreflector is a mirror that reflects incident light in the same direction of incidence.

By calculating the time required for the beam to bounce back, scientists can accurately measure the moon’s shape and distance from Earth, both of which are directly affected by Earth’s gravity. More than 50 years later, on the eve of NASA’s manned Artemis mission to the Moon, lunar research still relies on data from Apollo-era retroreflectors.

Cutting-edge retroreflector technology significantly expands knowledge of Earth’s only natural satellite, its geological processes, and the properties and structure of the moon’s crust as NASA prepares for science and discovery for the agency’s Artemis campaign It is expected that How the moon’s interior and the Earth-Moon system are changing over time. This technology also enables highly accurate tests of Einstein’s theory of gravity and general theory of relativity.

This is an innovative technology called NGLR (Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector), one of 10 NASA payloads scheduled for the next trip to the Moon under NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. expected purpose of scientific equipment. NGLR-1 will be brought to Earth by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar module.

NGLR-1, developed by researchers at the University of Maryland in College Park, was delivered to the lunar surface aboard the Blue Ghost lander and reflected very short laser pulses from the Earth-based Lunar Laser Ranging Observatory. I will do it. Apollo-era results with sub-millimeter precision range measurements.

Its discovery, if successful, could expand humanity’s understanding of the Moon’s internal structure and could lead to seismic activity on the Moon’s surface, including changes in the Moon’s liquid core as it orbits Earth. Astrophysics, Cosmology , will support new research in lunar physics.

“NASA has more than half a century of experience with retroreflectors, but NGLR-1 promises to deliver results that are an order of magnitude more accurate than Apollo-era reflectors,” said NASA Marshall Research Institute. said Dennis Harris, who manages the NGLR payload for the CLPS Initiative. Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Deploying the NGLR payload is just the first step, Harris said. A second NGLR retroreflector, called the Artemis Lunar Laser Retroreflector (ALLR), is currently a candidate payload for flight on NASA’s Artemis III mission to the moon, and will be located near the moon’s south pole. may be. The third is expected to appear in future CLPS deliveries to non-polar regions.

“We expect that once all three retroreflectors are operational, they will provide an unprecedented opportunity to learn more about the Moon’s relationship with Earth,” Harris said.

Based on the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial delivery services to the Moon to enable industry growth and support long-term lunar exploration. As a major customer for CLPS deliveries, NASA aims to be one of many customers for future flights. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development of seven of the 10 CLPS payloads aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.