Instrument Information
IDENTIFIER urn:nasa:pds:context:instrument:lro.lola::1.2
NAME Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter
TYPE Altimeter
DESCRIPTION The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) is a pulse detection, time-of-flight laser altimeter. LOLA transmits a 5-spot pattern that measures the precise distance to the lunar surface at multiple points simultaneously, thus providing 5 profiles across the lunar surface. It has five beams and five receiver channels, the first of which is also fiber-optic-coupled to a Laser Ranging (LR) telescope mounted on the High-Gain Antenna. The five received laser pulses are time stamped with respect to the spacecraft mission elapsed time using a set of time-to-digital converters at <0.5 ns precision. LOLA measures the transmitted and received pulse energies by integrating the pulse waveforms. The on-board science algorithm, running on an embedded microprocessor, autonomously adjusts the receiver detection threshold levels, detector gain, and range window for the lunar surface returns. LOLA will produce a high-resolution global topographic model and geodetic framework that will assist with precise targeting, safe landing, and surface mobility for future scientific and exploration activities. LOLA will also characterize the polar illumination environment and image the Moon's permanently-shadowed regions (PSRs) to identify possible locations of surface ice crystals in shadowed polar craters.
MODEL IDENTIFIER
NAIF INSTRUMENT IDENTIFIER
SERIAL NUMBER not applicable
REFERENCES Cavanaugh, J.F., J.C. Smith, X. Sun, A.E. Bartels, L. Ramos- Izquierdo, D.J. Krebs, A.M. Novo-Gradac, J.F. McGarry, R. Trunzo, J.L. Britt, J. Karsh, R.B. Katz, A. Lukemire, R. Szymkiewicz, D.L. Berry, J.P. Swinski, G.A. Neumann, M.T. Zuber, and D.E. Smith, The Mercury Laser Altimeter instrument for the MESSENGER mission, Space Science Reviews, 131, 451-479, 2007.

Smith, D.E., M.T. Zuber, H.V. Frey, J.B. Garvin, J.W. Head, D.O. Muhleman, G.H. Pettengill, R.J. Phillips, S.C. Solomon, H.J. Zwally, W.B. Banerdt, T.C. Duxbury, M.P. Golombek, F.G. Lemoine, G.A. Neumann, D.D. Rowlands, O. Aharonson, P.G. Ford, A.B. Ivanov, C.L. Johnson, P.J. McGovern, J.B. Abshire, R.S. Afzal, and X. Sun, Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter: Experiment summary after the first year of global mapping of Mars, J. Geophys. Res., 106, E10, 23689-23722, 2001.

Smith, D.E., M.T. Zuber, G.B. Jackson, G.A. Neumann,H. Riris, X. Sun, R.S. Zellar, C. Coltharp, J. Connelly, R.B. Katz, I. Kleyner, P. Liiva, A. Matuszeski, E.M. Mazarico, J.F. McGarry, A.-M. Novo-Gradac, M.N. Ott, C. Peters, L.A. Ramos-Izquierdo, L. Ramsey, D.D. Rowlands, S. Schmidt, V.S. Scott III, G.B. Shaw, J.C. Smith, J.-P. Swinski, M.H. Torrence, G. Unger, A.W. Yu, T.W. Zagwodzki, The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter Investigation on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission, Space Science Reviews, 16 May 2009.