David E. Smith
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View article: First Use of Laser Ranging to Surface Retroreflectors for Orbit Determination: LRO-LOLA at the Moon
First Use of Laser Ranging to Surface Retroreflectors for Orbit Determination: LRO-LOLA at the Moon Open
We document the first operational demonstration of two-way spacecraft-to-surface laser ranging using Laser Retroreflector Arrays (LRAs) for orbit determination (OD) of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). We detail how the Lunar Orbiter…
View article: Shallow Crustal Density in the Lunar South Polar Region
Shallow Crustal Density in the Lunar South Polar Region Open
Numerous space agencies are planning sustainable human presence at the lunar south pole. Understanding the nature of the lunar crust, particularly its three-dimensional density structure, is important, for example, for the search for water…
View article: Large-scale Roughness Properties of the Lunar North and South Polar Regions as Measured by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)
Large-scale Roughness Properties of the Lunar North and South Polar Regions as Measured by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) Open
The lunar polar regions are high-priority targets for scientific investigation and exploration. To aid these endeavors, we produced enhanced altimetry data from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter for the north polar region, from which we co…
View article: The South Pole‐Aitken Basin: Constraints on Impact Excavation, Melt, and Ejecta
The South Pole‐Aitken Basin: Constraints on Impact Excavation, Melt, and Ejecta Open
The formation and evolution of the South Pole‐Aitken (SPA) basin is critical to relating large impact basin formation and modification to lunar geophysical evolution. Most prior models of the SPA impact were conducted in 2D, making it diff…
View article: Near-infrared Photometry of the Moon’s Surface with Passive Radiometry from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)
Near-infrared Photometry of the Moon’s Surface with Passive Radiometry from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) Open
Examining the reflectance of the Moon’s surface across a broad range of viewing geometries through photometric analysis can reveal physical and geological properties of its regolith. Since 2013 December, the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (…
View article: Constraining the Structure under Lunar Impact Basins with Gravity
Constraining the Structure under Lunar Impact Basins with Gravity Open
The lunar gravity field is used to estimate and constrain the depth of mass anomalies under 19 major lunar impact basins. We use radial gravitational spectra, consisting of accelerations computed either per spherical harmonic degree or cum…
View article: A New View of the Lunar South Pole from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)
A New View of the Lunar South Pole from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) Open
Upcoming missions to the lunar south pole require detailed maps over large areas to fully characterize landing sites locally and regionally and to place their data into proper geologic context. To that end, we enhanced the Lunar Orbiter La…
View article: Gravity degree–depth relationship using point mass spherical harmonics
Gravity degree–depth relationship using point mass spherical harmonics Open
SUMMARY Relationships between the degree of a spherical harmonic model of the gravitational field of a body and the depth of a source expressed as a density contrast can be used to study the structure of features. Here, we show that the gr…
View article: A manual of standard methods for establishing the global geochemical reference network
A manual of standard methods for establishing the global geochemical reference network Open
View article: The Contribution of Small Impact Craters to Lunar Polar Wander
The Contribution of Small Impact Craters to Lunar Polar Wander Open
Changes in mass distribution affect the gravitational figure and reorient a planetary body’s surface with respect to its rotational axis. The mass anomalies in the present-day lunar gravity field can reveal how the figure and pole position…
View article: Know, Know Where, KnowWhereGraph: A densely connected, cross‐domain knowledge graph and geo‐enrichment service stack for applications in environmental intelligence
Know, Know Where, KnowWhereGraph: A densely connected, cross‐domain knowledge graph and geo‐enrichment service stack for applications in environmental intelligence Open
Knowledge graphs (KGs) are a novel paradigm for the representation, retrieval, and integration of data from highly heterogeneous sources. Within just a few years, KGs and their supporting technologies have become a core component of modern…
View article: Science Goals and Mission Architecture of the Europa Lander Mission Concept
Science Goals and Mission Architecture of the Europa Lander Mission Concept Open
Europa is a premier target for advancing both planetary science and astrobiology, as well as for opening a new window into the burgeoning field of comparative oceanography. The potentially habitable subsurface ocean of Europa may harbor li…
View article: Small All-Range Lidar for Asteroid and Comet Core Missions
Small All-Range Lidar for Asteroid and Comet Core Missions Open
We report the development of a new type of space lidar specifically designed for missions to small planetary bodies for both topographic mapping and support of sample collection or landing. The instrument is designed to have a wide dynamic…
View article: Small All-Range Lidar for Asteroid and Comet Core Missions
Small All-Range Lidar for Asteroid and Comet Core Missions Open
We report the development of a new type of space lidar specifically designed for missions to small planetary bodies for both topographic mapping and support of sample collection or landing. The instrument is designed to have a wide dynamic…
View article: Callisto: A Guide to the Origin of the Jupiter System
Callisto: A Guide to the Origin of the Jupiter System Open
View article: Solar-System-Wide Significance of Mars Polar Science
Solar-System-Wide Significance of Mars Polar Science Open
Mars Polar Science is an integrated, compelling system that serves as a nearby analogue to numerous other planets, supports human exploration, and habitability. Mars possesses the closest and most easily accessible layered ice deposits out…
View article: Latest update of Mercury geodetic parameters with altimetric crossovers from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA)
Latest update of Mercury geodetic parameters with altimetric crossovers from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) Open
Based on previous applications of laser altimetry to planetary geodesy at GSFC [Mazarico et al. (2014)], we use the recently developed PyXover software package to analyze altimetric crossovers from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) and imp…
View article: Next-Generation Geodesy at the Lunar South Pole: An Opportunity Enabled by the Artemis III Crew
Next-Generation Geodesy at the Lunar South Pole: An Opportunity Enabled by the Artemis III Crew Open
Lunar retro-reflector arrays (LRAs) consisting of corner-cube reflectors (CCRs) placed on the nearside of the Moon during the Apollo era have demonstrated their longevity, cost-effectiveness, ease of deployment, and most importantly their …
View article: Next-Generation Geodesy at the Lunar South Pole: An Opportunity Enabled by the Artemis III Crew
Next-Generation Geodesy at the Lunar South Pole: An Opportunity Enabled by the Artemis III Crew Open
Lunar retro-reflector arrays (LRAs) consisting of corner-cube reflectors (CCRs) placed on the nearside of the Moon during the Apollo era have demonstrated their longevity, cost-effectiveness, ease of deployment, and most importantly their …
View article: First two-way laser ranging to a lunar orbiter: infrared observations from the Grasse station to LRO’s retro-reflector array
First two-way laser ranging to a lunar orbiter: infrared observations from the Grasse station to LRO’s retro-reflector array Open
View article: Contribution of Gravity to Lunar Science, Exploration and Resource Assessment
Contribution of Gravity to Lunar Science, Exploration and Resource Assessment Open
<p>The recent development of high-resolution models of the lunar gravity field based on data from the NASA GRAIL mission have been instrumental in gaining knowledge about the structure of the Moon, and particularly, of the upper crus…
View article: Deriving the ancient lunar pole path from impact induced gravity anomalies
Deriving the ancient lunar pole path from impact induced gravity anomalies Open
<p>The large anomalies in the lunar gravity field are in most cases the result of large impacts that occurred more than 3 billion years ago.  Today those anomalies provide the stability of the lunar rotation and if removed w…
View article: New Analysis of Mercury Laser Altimeter Crossovers to Improve Geodetic Constraints by MESSENGER
New Analysis of Mercury Laser Altimeter Crossovers to Improve Geodetic Constraints by MESSENGER Open
2019 American Geophysical Union Meeting; December 09, 2019 - December 13, 2019; San Francisco, CA; United States
View article: Small and lightweight laser retro-reflector arrays for lunar landers
Small and lightweight laser retro-reflector arrays for lunar landers Open
A set of small and lightweight laser retro-reflector arrays (LRAs) was fabricated and tested for use on lunar landers under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Service program. Each array contains eight 1.27-cm-diameter corner cube retro-refle…
View article: High‐Resolution Gravity Field Models from GRAIL Data and Implications for Models of the Density Structure of the Moon's Crust
High‐Resolution Gravity Field Models from GRAIL Data and Implications for Models of the Density Structure of the Moon's Crust Open
We present our latest high‐resolution lunar gravity field model of degree and order 1200 in spherical harmonics using Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) data. In addition to a model with the standard spectral Kaula regulariza…
View article: A novel deployable telescope to facilitate a low-cost <1m GSD video rapid-revisit small satellite constellation
A novel deployable telescope to facilitate a low-cost <1m GSD video rapid-revisit small satellite constellation Open
The multi-billion dollar Earth observation applications market continues to demand better spatial and temporal resolution; simply put, this means bigger apertures and more satellites. This paper describes a novel deployable telescope that …
View article: The contribution of a large baseline intersatellite link to relativistic metrology
The contribution of a large baseline intersatellite link to relativistic metrology Open
— The precise estimation of helio- and fundamental physics parameters is essential for an accurate modeling of the solar system. The enhancement of radio tracking performances will enable unprecedented measurements of celestial mechanics, …
View article: Geodetic Evidence That Mercury Has A Solid Inner Core
Geodetic Evidence That Mercury Has A Solid Inner Core Open
Geodetic analysis of radio tracking measurements of the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft while in orbit about Mercury has yielded new estimates for the planet's gravity field, tidal Love number, and …
View article: Geodetic Evidence That Mercury Has A Solid Inner Core
Geodetic Evidence That Mercury Has A Solid Inner Core Open
Geodetic analysis of radio tracking measurements of the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft while in orbit about Mercury has yielded new estimates for the planet's gravity field, tidal Love number, and …
View article: Trilogy, a planetary geodesy mission concept for measuring the expansion of the solar system
Trilogy, a planetary geodesy mission concept for measuring the expansion of the solar system Open
The scale of the solar system is slowly changing, likely increasing as a result of solar mass loss, with additional change possible if there is a secular variation of the gravitational constant, G. The measurement of the change of s…