Ground-based lasers can successfully range the Moon using retroreflectors left by Apollo missions.
Multiple scientific studies confirm that ground-based laser stations successfully range the Moon using retroreflector arrays left by the Apollo missions, a technique utilized for decades to test general relativity and measure the Earth-Moon system.
The retrieved papers consistently state that lunar laser ranging (LLR) has been successfully performed for decades using the retroreflector arrays left on the Moon by Apollo missions. There is no contradictory evidence regarding this well-established scientific capability.
H. Araki, S. Kashima, H. Noda, H. Kunimori, K. Chiba, H. Mashiko, H. Kato, T. Otsubo, Y. Matsumoto, S. Tsuruta, K. Asari, H. Hanada, S. Yasuda, S. Utsunomiya, H. Takino. Thermo-optical simulation and experiment for the assessment of single, hollow, and large aperture retroreflector for lunar laser ranging. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-016-0475-4
Paper [1] discusses optimizing retroreflectors to improve upon Apollo lunar laser ranging.
See more details
He Yun, Liu Qi, Jing-Jing He, Ming Li, Huizong Duan, H. Yeh, Jun Luo. Development of a 170-mm hollow corner cube retroreflector for the future lunar laser ranging. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1088/1674-1056/27/10/100701
Paper [3] notes that lunar laser ranging has relied on Apollo retroreflector arrays for decades.
Merkowitz SM. Tests of Gravity Using Lunar Laser Ranging.. 2010. https://doi.org/10.12942/lrr-2010-7
Paper [4] confirms that ground-based stations routinely perform lunar laser ranging using retroreflectors left by Apollo missions.
Marco Muccino, Michele Montanari, Rudi Lauretani, Alejandro Remujo Castro, Laura Rubino, Ubaldo Denni, Raffaele Rodriquez, L. Salvatori, M. Tibuzzi, Luciana Filomena, Lorenza Mauro, D. Currie, G. Bargiacchi, E. Battista, S. Capozziello, M. Maiello, Luca Porcelli, Giovanni Delle Monache, Simone Dell’Agnello. MoonLIGHT and MPAc: The European Space Agency’s Next-Generation Lunar Laser Retroreflector for NASA’s CLPS/PRISM1A (CP-11) Mission. 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17050813
Paper [5] details how lunar laser ranging has successfully used Apollo retroreflector arrays since 1969.
M. Martini, S. Dell’Agnello, D. Currie, G. Monache, R. Vittori, S. Berardi, A. Boni, C. Cantone, E. Ciocci, C. Lops, M. Garattini, M. Maiello, G. Patrizi, M. Tibuzzi, N. Intaglietta, J. Chandler, G. Bianco. MOONLIGHT: A NEW LUNAR LASER RANGING RETROREFLECTOR AND THE LUNAR GEODETIC PRECESSION. 2013. https://doi.org/10.14311/AP.2013.53.0745
Paper [10] states that lunar laser ranging to Apollo retroreflector arrays has provided major tests of general relativity since the 1970s.
The paper trail · every fact has a biography
Challenge the receipt
Citation formatting by citeproc-js (Frank Bennett) and the Citation Style Language project. Source and licenses.
Terms · Privacy · How verdicts work · Dispute this receipt