![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2013\/12\/gold-coated_mirror\/13435129-1-eng-GB\/Gold-coated_mirror_small.jpg\")
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\nA microscopic-3D image of a small area of an ‘off the shelf’ gold coated mirror, produced through diamond-turning. The largest feature size is about 30 nm high and the average roughness of the surface is about 10 nm. For a commercial product this is a satisfactory result for ESA to utilise. The quality of this mirror surface was tested at ESA\u2019s optics laboratory to verify that its performance and quality was sufficient for use in a laser communications experiment. The vertical lines running from top to bottom along the surface are an expected characteristic of the process used to manufacture the mirror.\n<\/p>\n
\nThis mirror was installed in ESA\u2019s optical ground station (OGS) on the Canary Islands (Spain) and successfully used in the recent test campaign<\/a> with NASA to verify the performance of their new laser terminal on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft orbiting the moon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \t\t\t\t\t \nA microscopic-3D image of a small area of an ‘off the shelf’ gold coated mirror, produced through diamond-turning. The largest feature size is about 30 nm high and the average roughness of the surface is about 10 nm. For a commercial product this is a satisfactory result for ESA to utilise. The quality of this mirror surface was tested at ESA\u2019s optics laboratory to verify that its performance and quality was sufficient for use in a laser communications experiment. The vertical lines running from top to bottom along the surface are an expected characteristic of the process used to manufacture the mirror.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n