> Is it possible for anyone to use that reflector to calculate the earth-moon distance? Sure - anyone who has a strong enough laser and sensitive enough detect

> Is it possible for anyone to use that reflector to calculate the earth-moon distance? Sure - anyone who has a strong enough laser and sensitive enough detection rig to measure the returned signal. What could prevent them? > What kind of laser is used for this? These: http://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/network/stations/active/MDOL_sitelog.html#5.%20%20%20Laser%20System%20Information http://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/network/stations/active/MDOL_sitel... It's actually not all that powerful (probably still strong enough to be subject to all kinds of regulations though). The most cost and effort seems to go into the optics (read: telescops) for targeting and detection. > Do we know the precise location of the reflector? Of course: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_tables.html http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_tables.htm...