List of retroreflectors on the Moon
lunar laser ranging.[2]
Several unsuccessful attempts to land retroreflectors on the lunar surface have been made, and several future attempts are planned.
Successfully placed reflectors
Operator | Mission | Name | Date | Location | Coordinates | Size | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NASA | Apollo 11 | LRRR | 21 July 1969 | Mare Tranquillitatis | 0°40′24″N 23°28′23″E / 0.6734°N 23.4731°E[3] | 46×46 cm[4] | Operational | [5] |
Soviet Union | Luna 17 | Lunokhod 1 | 17 November 1973 | Mare Imbrium | 38°18′55″N 35°00′29″W / 38.3152°N 35.0080°W[3] | 44×19 cm[1] | Operational | Rediscovered in 2010[6][7][8][9] |
NASA | Apollo 14 | LRRR | 31 January 1971 | Fra Mauro formation | 3°38′39″S 17°28′43″W / 3.6442°S 17.4786°W[3] | 46×46 cm | Operational | [10] |
NASA | Apollo 15 | LRRR | 31 July 1971 | Hadley–Apennine | 26°08′00″N 3°37′43″E / 26.1334°N 3.6285°E[3] | 105×65 cm | Operational | [11] |
Soviet Union | Luna 21 | Lunokhod 2 | 15 January 1973 | Le Monnier crater | 25°49′56″N 30°55′20″E / 25.8323°N 30.9221°E[3] | 44×19 cm[1] | Operational | [12][13] |
ISRO | Chandrayaan-3 | Vikram | 23 August 2023 | Between Manzinus C and Simpelius N | 69°22′03″S 32°20′53″E / 69.367621°S 32.348126°E | 5.11 cm diameter[14] | Operational | [15][16][17][18] |
Attempted and planned reflectors
Operator | Mission | Name | Date | Location | Coordinates | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SpaceIL, IAI | Beresheet | Beresheet | 11 April 2019 | Mare Serenitatis | 32°35′44″N 19°20′59″E / 32.5956°N 19.3496°E | Crashed | [19][20][21] |
ISRO
|
Chandrayaan-2 | Vikram | 6 September 2019 | 70°52′52″S 22°47′02″E / 70.8810°S 22.7840°E | Crashed | [22][23] | |
Moon Express | Lunar Scout | MX-1E
|
July 2020 | Malapert Mountain
|
84°54′S 12°54′E / 84.9°S 12.9°E | Cancelled | [24][25] |
Astrobotic | Mission One | LRA on Peregrine | May 2023 | Lacus Mortis | Aborted, Controlled Re-entry |
[26] | |
Roscosmos | Luna 25 | Luna 25 | August 2023 | Boguslawsky (crater) | Crashed | [27][28][29] | |
Intuitive Machines | IM-1 | LRA on Nova-C IM-1 | February 2024 | Malapert (crater) | Failed | [30][26] |
Gallery
-
Apollo 11 Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector
-
Apollo 14 retroreflector
-
Close-up of Apollo 15 retroreflector
-
Model of Lunokhod 2 retroreflector (hexagon in front)
See also
- Lunar Laser Ranging experiment
- List of artificial objects on the Moon
- List of missions to the Moon
References
- ^ a b c Lunar Retroreflectors
- ^ Slava G. Turyshev: From Quantum to Cosmos: Fundamental Physics Research in Space (2009), p. 300
- ^ .
- ^ Newman, Michael E. (26 September 2017). "To the Moon and Back … in 2.5 Seconds". NIST. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "What Neil & Buzz Left on the Moon: A cutting-edge science experiment left behind in the Sea of Tranquility by Apollo 11 astronauts is still running today". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 20 July 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ^ "Lost Soviet Reflecting Device Rediscovered on the Moon". Space.com. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ "LROC Observation M114185541R". Arizona State University. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ "Lunokhod 1 Revisited | Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera". lroc.sese.asu.edu. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ "USSR – Luna 17".
- ^ "Apollo 14: The Eighth Mission: The Third Lunar Landing: 31 January–09 February 1971". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original on 14 November 2004. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ Archinal, Brent (13 April 2010). "The Apollo 15 Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector – A Fundamental Point on the Moon!". Arizona State University. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ^ "USSR – Luna 21".
- ^ "NASA – NSSDCA – Spacecraft – Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ "Chandrayaan 3 – LRA".
- ^ "Chandrayaan-3". ISRO. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ Dhillon, Amrit (23 August 2023). "India lands spacecraft near south pole of moon in historic first". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ "Laser Instrument on NASA's LRO Successfully 'Pings' Indian Moon Lander". Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Instrument on Chandrayaan-3 lander started serving as a location marker near lunar south pole". Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Beresheet crash caused by manual command, but reflector device may have survived. Georgina Torbet, Digital Trends. 21 April 2019.
- ^ Warner, Cheryl (10 April 2019). "Update on First Private Robotic Spacecraft Attempt at Moon Landing". NASA. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ Israeli spacecraft Beresheet crash site spotted on moon, 15 May 2019
- ^ "Vikram lander located on lunar surface, wasn't a soft landing: Isro". The Times of India. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ Bartels, Meghan (24 March 2019). "How NASA Scrambled to Add Science Experiments to Israeli, Indian Moon Probes". Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ Internatioinal Lunar Observatory to offer a new astrophysical perspective. Tonasz Nowakowski. Spaceflight Insider. 12 August 2017.
- ^ UMD, Italy & MoonEx Join to Put New Laser-Reflecting Arrays on Moon Archived 22 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Lee Tune, University of Maryland. 10 June 2015.
- ^ a b Etherington, Darrell (23 January 2020). "NASA reveals the payloads for the first commercial moon cargo deliveries". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ "Luna-25 (Luna-Glob Lander) Payload". www.iki.rssi.ru. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashes into the moon, ending its bid to reach the lunar south pole". Associated Press. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ "Intuitive Machines-1 Orbital Debris Assessment Report (ODAR) Revision 1.1" (PDF). Intuitive Machines. FCC. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.