Chinese scientists have pulled off a world-first: daytime laser ranging between Earth and the moon, overcoming the glare of daylight to precisely track a satellite 130,000 km away.
The breakthrough came from a team at the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which used an upgraded near-infrared laser system on a 1.2-meter telescope. On Sunday, researchers led by Li Yuqiang captured the faint return beam from the Tiandu-1 satellite's retroreflectorash a milestone in precise deep-space orbit measurement.
This is the first time anywhere in the world that satellite laser ranging has worked in Earth-moon space during daytime. By suppressing strong solar background noise, the technique boosts navigation and positioning capabilities beyond our planet. It also lays the groundwork for upcoming deep-space projects like the International Lunar Research Station.
The team behind the feat brought together experts from China's Deep Space Exploration Lab, Yunnan Observatories, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the CAS, Sun Yat-sen University, Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering, and Beijing Aerospace Control Center. Their collaboration highlights the growing power of multi-institution efforts in space science.
Tiandu-1, launched on March 20, 2024, is a communications and navigation test satellite now orbiting between the Earth and the moon. Thanks to this daytime ranging success, future lunar missions and scientific experiments can rely on more accurate orbit data to navigate the final frontier.
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Chinese scientists achieve daytime laser ranging in Earth-moon space
cgtn.com
