Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.

Retroreflectoron the moon

This object is on display in Destination Moon at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

The Laser Ranging Retroreflector is a device that reflects light so that the paths of the reflected rays are parallel to those of the incident rays. Instruments placed on the lunar surface were used in experiments to reflect laser light back to Earth. The reflected light was used to provide precise measurements of the distance between the earth and the moon.