Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 48: Laseranwendungen: opt. Messtechnik

Q 48.5: Talk

Thursday, March 15, 2012, 15:15–15:30, V38.01

Grace follow-on laser ranging instrument — •Vitali Müller, Daniel Schütze, Benjamin Sheard, Oliver Gerberding, Christoph Mahrdt, Marina Dehne, Gunnar Stede, Nils Brause, Gerhard Heinzel, and Karsten Danzmann — Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik / Leibniz Universität Hannover (Albert-Einstein-Institut)

The joint NASA/DLR mission GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) provides monthly solutions of Earth's gravity field since 2002. Variations of the geopotential are caused by various geophysical effects like tides, mantle conversion or melting glaciers. Hence these models have a wide range of applications in geosciences.

To ensure a continuous data stream of Earth's large scale mass fluctuations, a GRACE follow-on mission is being prepared to be launched in 2016. Additionally to a microwave ranging system between the two satellites, an inter-satellite laser link will be established to perform interferometric distance measurements with a precision of 50 nm/sqrt(Hz) in the interesting frequency band. An overview about the mission will be given, particularly about the laser ranging instrument, which will be the first inter-satellite laser interferometer in space.