Abstract
<jats:p>During its rotational and orbital motion, the Moon is subjected to temporally varying gravitational forces that induce periodic tidal deformation. Estimates of the lunar tidal h2 have been obtained using data from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) as well as from Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) experiments. However, h2 values inferred from LOLA data are reported to be as much as 18% lower than those derived from LLR. In this study, we introduce an alternative approach based on co-registration techniques applied to the LOLA profiles to estimate the lunar tidal h2. Within the polar regions of 88° to 90°, we recover time-resolved tidal deformation that is consistent with the theoretical expectations, leading to an inverted tidal Love number of h2 = 0.0405 ± 0.0022 (3-sigma). This value exceeds previous LOLA-based estimates but is compatible with a subset of the LLR determinations and recent predictions from interior modeling.</jats:p>