2010 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 15-33
Japanese lunar explorer SELENE (KAGUYA) was equipped with 14 instruments for various measurements of the Moon. Three of these instruments took geodetic measurements of the Moon. These were two sub-satellites and a laser altimeter. They achieved all the missions expected before launch and obtained excellent results. The main results obtained by the instruments are 1) precise orbit determination with an accuracy of ten meters by Doppler and same-beam VLBI, 2) the first precise gravity fields on the lunar far side by 4-way Doppler measurements, 3) the first topography in latitudes higher than 86 degrees, 4) a global map of the gravity anomaly by using the global topography and the global gravity fields, 5) a global map of the lunar crustal thickness and 6) an illumination rate map in the north and south polar regions. These results open the new stage of lunar geodesy now.
