Euler's equations of motion, modified to include elasticity and solid friction, were used to study the rotation of the moon. Two heuristic models for the anelasticity were considered: Q independent of frequency and Q inversely proportional to the frequency of the strain oscillation. Parameters in each model were estimated by weighted least squares from 9 years of lunar laser range observations. The root mean square of the postfit range residuals was 19 cm in each case. For a strain period of 1 month, the estimates of Q obtained with the two models were similar and surprisingly low: 23 ± 6. The range of uncertainty, ±6, represents our estimate of the true standard deviation of the estimate of Q, as affected by systematic errors; it is 3 times larger than the formal, statistical, standard error.
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Cappallo et al. (1981) studied this question.