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  • Open Access

Scale-factor measurement with a linear optical cavity for GRACE-like missions

Emily Rose Rees*, Andrew Wade, and Kirk McKenzie

  • *Contact author: emilyrose.rees@anu.edu.au
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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 044054 – Published 21 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/dxtw-3cqy

Abstract

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) missions monitor variations in the Earth’s gravity field, primarily due to water transport, by measuring the change in the distance between two spacecraft. The next generation of GRACE-like missions is expected to rely on interspacecraft laser interferometry to recover these geodesy signals, necessitating the development of a technique to provide long-term laser frequency knowledge. A development electronics unit has been designed and manufactured to provide long-term absolute laser frequency knowledge for the GRACE-Continuity laser ranging system. This paper presents the first measurement of cavity ageing over 2.5 years using this technique and reports on the performance with sub-MHz errors in a GRACE-like optical cavity, sufficient for next-generation GRACE missions. Limitations caused by spurious etalons in the optical system are discussed.

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References (26)

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 044054– Published 21 April, 2026
  • Received 22 May 2025
  • Revised 9 December 2025
  • Accepted 9 March 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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