Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Scientific paper
2001-10-26
Class.Quant.Grav. 19 (2002) 2393-2398
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Latex2e, 7 pages, no figures, ets2000.cls and art12.sty used. Major rewriting in introduction. References added
Scientific paper
10.1088/0264-9381/19/9/305
In this paper the possibility of measuring some general relativistic effects in the gravitational field of the Moon via selenodetic missions, with particular emphasis to the future Japanese SELENE mission, is investigated. For a typical selenodetic orbital configuration the post-Newtonian Lense-Thirring gravitomagnetic and the Einstein's gravitoelectric effects on the satellites orbits are calculated and compared to the present-day orbit accuracy of lunar missions. It turns out that for SELENE's Main Orbiter, at present, the gravitoelectric periselenium shift, which is the largest general relativistic effect, is 1 or 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the experimental sensitivity. The systematic error induced by the mismodelled classical periselenium precession due to the first even zonal harmonic J2 of the Moon's non-spherical gravitational potential is 3 orders of magnitude larger than the general relativistic gravitoelectric precession. The estimates of this work could be used for future lunar missions having as their goals relativistic measurements as well.
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