Lunar laser ranging has been a valuable tool and has helped make many scientific breakthroughs. Some of the results of the experiments conducted with these reflectors are: the precise distance to the Moon with millimeter precision, the speed the Moon is moving away, the existence of a fluid core, tidal effects on the earth. These experiments are very difficult for many reasons, these include: atmospheric disturbances, beam divergence and return signal-to-noise ratio. While the laser propagates to the moon and back, it will go through many effects that need to be considered. For example, the return signal needs to be great enough to be detected. The strength of the return signal (photon flux) is significantly reduced by atmospheric disturbances and beam divergence.

This presentation will explore the logistics and history of these experiments, and discuss several of the technical challenges these experiments face and solutions to these problems as well as future experiments.