All Questions
8
questions
7
votes
2
answers
157
views
Would a laser seismometer work from lunar orbit?
Lasers today have become extremely sensible, they can detect sub-millimeter movements of a surface from a distance. Could this feature be exploited to create a lunar seismometer working from a probe ...
- 191
2
votes
1
answer
188
views
When they shoot lasers at the Moon for ranging, what is the shape of the beam?
Laser ranging of the Moon is usually done with a Q-switched pulsed laser fed into a big (1 or 2 meter diameter) telescope as a collimator in order to get a tight beam all the way to the Moon in hopes ...
- 149k
2
votes
1
answer
278
views
What exactly is a "Next Generation Lunar Reflector"? Difference in design and performance?
Space.com's 50 Years After Apollo, India Is Carrying a NASA Laser Reflector to the Moon (And It's Only the Start) is a little confusing because it talks about three retroreflectors:
- Apollo era ...
- 149k
1
vote
1
answer
184
views
Why does LRO's laser altimeter telescopes use lenses instead of mirrors?
From Space.com's NASA's Piggyback Experiment on Israeli Moon Lander Could Aid Future Lunar Touchdowns shows an image of the laser altimeter on the LRO. It looks like the "transmit" and "...
- 149k
40
votes
3
answers
14k
views
Is pinging the Moon with a laser as shown on "The Big Bang Theory" possible?
In an episode of season 3 of The Big Bang Theory, the cast sends a laser pulse to the Moon. This seems to be a real thing: What Neil & Buzz left on the Moon (2004). My questions are:
Could ...
- 795
1
vote
2
answers
354
views
Can you launch a probe to the Moon using a laser propelled craft?
Take a very light object, propel it with a laser source on Earth at a constant acceleration.
Can this object reach the Moon?
Could this be more reliable than a rocket? (supposing solar panel energy ...
- 105
10
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Doing an experiment to point a laser to the moon and back
After reading this question: I got an itch to to test out the mirrors myself (and maybe record whole process to irritate conspiracy nuts).
What equipment would I need? I assume a high powered laser ...
7
votes
1
answer
543
views
How much power loss does the LLCD suffer in transit?
Space.com writes to say (freeform improved quote):
The LLCD (Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration) space terminal is designed to beam data from the moon at a rate six times faster than the best ...
- 13.6k