Real-time control of the Robotic Lunar Observatory Telescope

The US Geological Survey operates an automated observatory dedicated to the radiometry of the Moon with the objective of developing a multispectral, s patially resolved photometric model of the Moon to be used in the calibrati on of Earth-orbiting spacecraft. Interference filters are used with two ima ging instruments to observe the Moon in 32 passbands from 350-2500 nm. Thre e computers control the telescope mount and instruments with a fourth compu ter acting as a master system to control all observation activities. Real-t ime control software has been written to operate the instrumentation and to automate the observing process. The observing software algorithms use info rmation including the positions of objects in the sky, the phase of the Moo n, and the times of evening and morning twilight to decide how to observe p rogram objects. The observatory has been operating in a routine mode since late 1995 and is expected to continue through at least 2002 without signifi cant modifications.