Picosecond accuracy VLBI of the two subsatellites of SELENE (KAGUYA) using multifrequency and same beam methods

Abstract

Same beam very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of the two subsatellites of SELENE (KAGUYA) are demonstrated for purpose of the precise gravimetry of the Moon. Same beam VLBI contributes a great deal to cancel out the tropospheric and ionospheric delays and to determine the absolute value of the cycle ambiguity by using the multifrequency VLBI method. As a result, the differential phase delay of the X‐band signal is estimated within an error of below 1 ps. This accuracy is more than 1 order of magnitude smaller than former VLBI results. The preliminary results for the orbit determination of the subsatellites show a decrease of the orbit error from a few hundreds of meters to around 10 m when the differential phase delay data are added to the conventional range and Doppler data. These results reveal the possibility of precise gravimetry.