It is a research and industrial laboratory dedicated to the design, construction, characterization and space qualification of laser retroreflectors deployed on artificial satellites and celestial bodies for their accurate positioning by means of the laser ranging technique, i. e. the accurate measurement of the time-of-flight of short laser pulses.
The celestial bodies of interest are the Moon, other planets, other moons, asteroids and comets. The SCF_Lab is an international laboratory renowned for its scientific and technological capabilities, which has a strong national partnership with ASI (the Italian space agency) and collaborates with the European space agency (ESA), the USA space agency (NASA), the Chinese space agency (CNSA) and the Indian space agency (ISRO) on missions and studies of the Earth and the rest of the Solar System.
Find out more
- https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/nasa-and-infn-sign-affiliate-member-statement/
- https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/infn-laser-retro-reflector-development/ .
- http://www.lnf.infn.it/conference/laser2012/
- http://home.infn.it/it/comunicazione/news/2885-marte-e-partita-la-missione-insight-a-bordo-c-e-anche-l-italiano-larri
- http://home.infn.it/it/comunicazione/news/3303-anche-l-italiano-larri-arriva-su-marte.