Lunar laser ranging science: Gravitational physics and lunar interior and geodesy Original Research Article

Laser pulses fired at retroreflectors on the Moon provide very accurate ranges. Analysis yields information on Earth, Moon, and orbit. The highly accurate retroreflector positions have uncertainties less than a meter. Tides on the Moon show strong dissipation, with Q = 33 ± 4 at a month and a weak dependence on period. Lunar rotation depends on interior properties; a fluid core is indicated with radius ∼20% that of the Moon. Tests of relativistic gravity verify the equivalence principle to ±1.4 × 10−13, limit deviations from Einstein’s general relativity, and show no rate for the gravitational constant image with uncertainty 9 × 10−13/year.