A unified lunar control network: The near side

Abstract

The Lunakhod 2, Apollo 11, 14, and 15 retroreflectors, and the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 ALSEP antenna locations are the most accurately located positions on the Moon. The Apollo 15 retroreflector and the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 ALSEP antennas have been identified on high‐resolution Apollo panoramic pictures and their locations transferred to Apollo mapping camera frames. Three Apollo control networks have been computed, two by the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center and one by the National Ocean Survey/U.S. Geological Survey, based on measurements of points on the Apollo mapping camera frames. Transformations involving translation, rotation, and scale were determined that adjusted the coordinates of the points of the three control networks to the center of mass origin and the mean Earth/polar axis coordinate system defined by the lunar ranging retroreflector experiment. The transformed DMA/603 control network was the best fit to the ALSEP coordinates and was selected as a base to transform all points in D. L. Meyer/s (DMAAC) telescopic network to the new origin and coordinate system. New coordinates of 1156 of these points are given as are 10 points from a Mariner 10 solution in the north polar region. These coordinates are presented in the appendix and are available only in the microfiche version of this journal.

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