retroreflector

[re-troh-ri-flek-ter]

noun

1. retroreflective

Word History and Origins

Origin of retroreflector¹

First recorded in 1945–50; retro- + reflector

Example Sentences

Another is a laser retroreflector array which will bounce back laser beams fired from Earth.

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There is also a NASA-contributed retroreflector, an upgraded version of the ones left on the moon by Apollo astronauts.

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In 2017, Dr. Mazarico and his collaborators began firing an infrared laser from a station near Grasse, France — about a half-hour drive from Cannes — toward the orbiter’s retroreflector.

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After accounting for the smaller size of the orbiter’s retroreflector, Dr. Mazarico and his colleagues found that it often returned photons more efficiently than the Apollo retroreflectors.

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The mission will also analyze minerals and map the unexplored south pole’s surface with a camera, seismometer, a thermal instrument and a NASA-supplied laser retroreflector to help calculate the distance to the Earth.

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