Engineers suggest installing laser reflectors on the Moon: What are they for?

NASA engineers have proposed creating a system of corner reflectors (retroreflectors) on the Moon to facilitate future landings of spacecraft on the lunar surface. The initiative is called the Lunar Retroreflector Array (LRA), as reported by the portal Space.com.

The reflectors are small dome-shaped devices with eight glass prisms. One such hemisphere weighs only 20 grams and does not require power.

Once on the Moon, they will reflect laser beams from laser altimeters and optical radars on spacecraft, allowing landing modules to orient more accurately and choose better landing sites.

The first component of the future retroreflector network was delivered to the Moon by the Indian spacecraft "Chandrayaan-3" in August of last year.

NASA sent one element of the LRA on board the private lunar spacecraft Peregrine by Astrobotic to the Moon. However, it is unlikely to reach its target due to a launch accident that deprived the module of most of the necessary fuel.

The space agency hopes to deliver several more LRA devices to the Moon with subsequent missions, the nearest of which should be carried out by the Japanese landing module SLIM. If all goes well, this innovative system will enhance the precision of spacecraft landings on the lunar surface.