Lunar laser ranging based on a 100  Hz repetition frequency

Abstract

High-repetition-rate lunar laser ranging (LLR) has great prospects and significance. We have successfully obtained the effective echo signals of all five corner-cube reflectors (CCRs) on the lunar surface by using a 100 Hz repetition rate. This method can effectively improve the detection ability but has some defects: for example, the main wave and echo signals overlap. In this paper, the frequency selection and signal overlap are theoretically analyzed. The results show that the existing target prediction accuracy can meet the requirement of a 100 Hz repetition rate LLR. In the experiment, the use of a high-repetition-rate pulse laser allowed us to obtain detailed CCR information, such as the column number of CCRs, which will prove that the effective echo signals of LLR are reflected by the CCRs. Finally, we propose to use the resolved data to calculate the precision of inner coincidence and believe the accuracy can be within a millimeter.