Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2010-03-03
Icarus.208:31-35,2010
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
9 pages; 4 figures; accepted for publication in Icarus
Scientific paper
10.1016/j.icarus.2010.02.015
Forty years ago, Apollo astronauts placed the first of several retroreflector arrays on the lunar surface. Their continued usefulness for laser-ranging might suggest that the lunar environment does not damage optical devices. However, new laser ranging data reveal that the efficiency of the three Apollo reflector arrays is now diminished by a factor of ten at all lunar phases and by an additional factor of ten when the lunar phase is near full moon. These deficits did not exist in the earliest years of lunar ranging, indicating that the lunar environment damages optical equipment on the timescale of decades. Dust or abrasion on the front faces of the corner-cube prisms may be responsible, reducing their reflectivity and degrading their thermal performance when exposed to face-on sunlight at full moon. These mechanisms can be tested using laboratory simulations and must be understood before designing equipment destined for the moon.
Jr.
Adelberger Eric G.
Battat James B. R.
Hoyle Charles D.
McMillan Russet J.
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