Search

With the development of the JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE)/Radar for Icy Moons Exploration (RIME) [European Space Agency (ESA)] and Europa Clipper/Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON) [National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)] instruments, designed to study the subsurface of the Galilean moons, interest has been growing to study the performances of sounding radar orbiting these bodies. In the presence of strong Jupiter’s radio emissions, probing in a passive mode using these emissions as the emitter is considered. However, radar performances in this bistatic mode are dependent on the entire geometry of observation: the position of the source of emission, the spacecraft trajectory, and on the region probed. The 3-D Simulations are necessary to estimate the performances of these measurements. We analyze the influence of the geometry of observation by approximating Jovian radio bursts as radio impulses, simulating the signal scattered by a point target in a realistic 3-D geometry and computing the resolution. This allows a preliminary identification of scenarios of observation best suited for this radar mode. The influence of the correct localization of Jupiter’s emissions on the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image is investigated as well, and interest in recovering the true position of Jupiter’s source is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radar observations provide crucial insights into the formation and dynamical evolution of comets. This ability is constrained by our knowledge of the dielectric and textural properties of these small-bodies. Using several observations by Rosetta as well as results from the Earth-based Arecibo radio telescope, we provide an updated and comprehensive dielectric and roughness description of Comet 67P/CG, which can provide new constraints on the radar properties of other nuclei. Furthermore, contrary to previous assumptions of cometary surfaces being dielectrically homogeneous and smooth, we find that cometary surfaces are dielectrically heterogeneous (ε r′≈1.6–3.2), and are rough at X - and S -band frequencies, which are widely used in characterization of small-bodies. We also investigate the lack of signal broadening in CONSERT observations through the comet head. Our results suggest that primordial building blocks in the subsurface are either absent, smaller than the radar wavelength, or have a weak dielectric contrast (Δ ε r′). To constrain this ambiguity, we use optical albedo measurements by the OSIRIS camera of the freshly exposed subsurface after the Aswan cliff collapse. We find that the hypothetical subsurface blocks should have |Δ ε r′|≳0.15, setting an upper limit of ∼ 1 m on the size of 67P/CG's primordial building blocks if they exist. Our analysis is consistent with a purely thermal origin for the ∼ 3 m surface bumps on pit walls and cliff-faces, hypothesized to be high-centred polygons formed from fracturing of the sintered shallow ice-bearing subsurface due to seasonal thermal expansion and contraction. Potential changes in 67P/CG's radar reflectivity at these at X - and S -bands can be associated with large-scale structural changes of the nucleus rather than small-scale textural ones. Monitoring changes in 67P/CG's radar properties during repeated close-approaches via Earth-based observations can constrain the dynamical evolution of its cometary nucleus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The context of space missions implies very strong constraints on the design of the instruments. For instance, mass, data rates, power consumption, clock frequency, and accuracy are very limited. These limitations degrade the performance and the accuracy of the measurements. This paper is related to the study of signals sampled at a low frequency. More exactly, we propose an oversampled pulse compression method for radar signals, which allows to reconstruction the signals with a much higher sampling rate. Consequently, this method allows significantly improving the multipath amplitude and the delay estimation accuracy. The efficiency of our method is clearly demonstrated with real measurements. These latter correspond to calibration measurements performed on ground with the radar COmets Nucleus Sounding Experiment by Radio-wave Transmission. The latter allows performing the tomography in the transmission of 67P Churyumov–Gerasimenko comets nucleus in the frame of the Rosetta/European Space Agency space mission. The results show that the proposed method allows estimating the delays with accuracy better than 10% of the sampling period in the case of a sampling frequency value close to the Nyquist limit. The analysis of the measured signals shows how a small frequency aliasing power degrades the delay estimation performance. This problem can be resolved using an estimation method based on an end-to-end signal modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: In 2014, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission is scheduled to rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (Comet 67P). Rosetta’s CONSERT experiment aims to explore the cometary nucleus’ geophysical properties using radar tomography. The expected scientific return and inversion algorithms are mainly dependent on our understanding of the dielectric properties of the comet nucleus and how they vary with the spatial distribution of geophysical parameters. Using observations of Comets 9P/Tempel 1 and 81P/Wild 2 in combination with dielectric laboratory measurements of temperature, porosity, and dust-to-ice mass ratio dependencies for cometary analog material, we have constructed two hypothetical three-dimensional parametric dielectric models of Comet 67P’s nucleus to assess different dielectric scenarios of the inner structure. Our models suggest that dust-to-ice mass ratios and porosity variations generate the most significant measurable dielectric contrast inside the comet nucleus, making it possible to explore the structural and compositional hypotheses of cometary nuclei. Surface dielectric variations, resulting from temperature changes induced by solar illumination of the comet’s faces, have also been modeled and suggest that the real part of the dielectric constant varies from 1.9 to 3.0, hence changing the surface radar reflectivity. For CONSERT, this variation could be significant at low incidence angles, when the signal propagates through a length of dust mantle comparable to the wavelength. The overall modeled dielectric permittivity spatial and temporal variations are therefore consistent with the expected deep penetration of CONSERT’s transmitted wave through the nucleus. It is also clear that changes in the physical properties of the nucleus induce sufficient variation in the dielectric properties of cometary material to allow their inversion from radar tomography. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Numerous scarps with similar characteristics have been observed in the polar layered deposits of Planum Australe, Mars. They are referred to as LAPSs (for Large Asymmetric Polar Scarps) because of their typical cross-section featuring a trough between a straight slope on one side with outcrops of layered deposits and a convex slope on the other side without any outcrops. These LAPSs are restricted to the outlying region of Ultimi Lobe. Topographic data, optical images, and subsurface radar observations have been analyzed and compared to produce a complete morphologic and stratigraphic description of these scarps. In all, 167 LAPS-like features have been identified. All have similar dimensions and characteristics and appear to be deep depressions in the ice. The polar deposits have an average thickness of 1km in this region and the LAPS depressions commonly reach half of that thickness. Subsurface data indicate that the depressions could reach bedrock at certain locations. Many surface features of the polar deposits of Mars are considered to be consequences of depositional and/or erosion processes. We propose a mechanical failure of the ice for the LAPSs origin, given the striking similarities in shape and size they show with rollover anticlines above listric faults commonly observed as a crustal extension mode on Earth. This tectonic scenario would imply a substantial outward sliding of the polar deposits in the region of Ultimi Lobe and a low basal shear stress. No information is available to determine whether such a system could be active at present. Confirmation of the “mechanical failure” hypothesis of these LAPSs on Mars is of major importance as it could be a macro-expression of fundamental differences between ice-sheet behavior under martian and terrestrial conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Low-frequency radar tomography is an important subsurface imaging method for future planetary missions to solar system small bodies. We derive angular and radial sampling criteria for monostatic and bistatic radar tomography algorithms that are based on monochromatic free-space backprojection and spherical apertures. We use the vector Born approximation to highlight the degeneracy of monochromatic bistatic source/receiver direction pair measurements in k -space. Analytical expressions are then derived for the scalar point target response of different spherical sampling geometries. We also derive the angular sampling step and total number of sampling points required to fully reconstruct the point target response for monostatic, bistatic, and non-degenerate k -space spherical apertures. These are evaluated for object sizes and radar operating frequencies expected in small body tomography. We also analyze and derive expressions for the coherence loss of spherical apertures due to random errors in a sensor's radial position, which provides requirements on the a posteriori ephemeris knowledge. Finally, we derive a vector backprojection algorithm suitable for focusing quad-pol scattering matrix (S-matrix) data that is tested using full-wave S-matrix simulations of dielectric point targets. This work is intended to aid radar instrument performance analysis and inform the design and architecture of future instruments and missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The internal structure of asteroids is still poorly known and has never been analyzed directly by measurements. Our knowledge relies entirely on inferences from remote sensing observations of the surface and theoretical modeling. Direct measurements are crucial to characterize an asteroid's internal structure and heterogeneity from sub-metric to global scale. The radar package developed in the frame of the phase A/B1 of the Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) as part of the larger Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission is a mature instrument suite to answer this question and to improve our ability to understand and model the mechanisms driving Near Earth Asteroids (NEA). It is of main interest for science, exploration and planetary defense. This instrument suite consists of a monostatic high frequency radar (HFR) to investigate the stratigraphy of surface regolith and a bistatic low frequency radar (LFR) to characterize the deep interior. The chosen platform to deliver the surface unit of the LFR and other instruments for a close-up study of the target asteroid is the MASCOT nanolander, which already flies on Hayabusa2 (HY2) in a mineralogy scout configuration. In this paper, we present the chosen instrumentation for radar science, baseline mission requirements and the initial design for integration into the lander platform, including all peculiarities and constraints. Highlights • Direct observations of asteroids by radar to understand accretion and evolution. • The baseline design of two radars is derived from mission science requirements. • Surface and subsurface maps are provided by a monostatic high frequency radar. • Deep interior 2D and 3D tomography is provided by a bistatic low frequency radar. • Aspects of integrating the bistatic radar onto the reusable MASCOT lander platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]