HR: 13:40h
AN: G33A-01 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Current and Future Applications of Laser Altimetry to Planetary Geodesy
AU: * Neumann, G A
EM: gregory.neumann@gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
AU: * Neumann, G A
EM: gregory.neumann@gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Code 926 Space Geodesy, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AB: Planetary orbital lidar mapping, first used by the Apollo Orbiters in 1971-72, achieved a new status with the mapping of Mars by the MOLA instrument aboard Mars Global Surveyor, 1998-2001. A new geodetic control network has been tied to MOLA altimetry, providing the basis for subsequent missions, and the crustal and lithospheric structure of Mars has been resolved. Further applications included measurement of seasonally-varying polar topography, atmospheric properties, orbital decay of Phobos due to tidal dissipation, and surface modifications produced by volatiles. The MLA instrument on the MESSENGER mission will measure the shape of Mercury and determine the amplitude of forced libration from orbit. Lidar instruments on earlier missions to the Moon and asteroid 433 Eros, in combination with radio tracking, have also revealed internal structure. We summarize the state of the art of lidar mapping and discuss advances in determination of gravity potential of solid bodies using altimetric crossovers.
DE: 1221 Lunar geodesy and gravity (6250)
DE: 1227 Planetary geodesy and gravity (5420, 5714, 6019)
SC: Geodesy [G]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting