The goal of this paper is to discuss the turbulent effects on the laser beam of the lunar laser ranging (LLR), and to use the real-time tilt compensation for the LLR. In this new technique, a small area near the retroreflector array on the moon surface will be used as an extended source to detect the wavefront tilt. Then the absolute difference algorithm will be used to calculate the wavefront tilt and to reconstruct it, and it will be used to drive a tip-tilt mirror in the laser transmit path to carry on the real-time tilt compensation for the laser beam on the LLR. After the compensation, the returned laser photons from the moon retroreflector to the ground telescope will be increased a factor of 6 to 40, depend on the turbulence.

Date Published: 7 February 2003
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 4839, Adaptive Optical System Technologies II, (7 February 2003); doi: 10.1117/12.456989

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4839:
Adaptive Optical System Technologies II
Peter L. Wizinowich; Domenico Bonaccini, Editor(s)