Ionosphere compensation and stepped frequency processing in the MARSIS experiment

Author

Restano, M. ; Mastrogiuseppe, M. ; Masdea, A. ; Picardi, G. ; Seu, R.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Inf., Electr. & Telecommun. Eng. (DIET), Univ. of Rome Sapienza, Rome, Italy

fYear

2011

fDate

25-27 Aug. 2011

Firstpage

149

Lastpage

152

Abstract

This paper is addressed to the improvement of the range resolution of MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) by means of a modified version of the stepped frequency processing algorithm. MARSIS is a low frequency, pulse-limited radar sounder and altimeter selected by ESA as a payload of the Mars Express mission. The ionosphere affects MARSIS operation in terms of phase distortion, attenuation and Faraday rotation. The ionosphere fine compensation is obtained according to the uniform model, allowing, with the correctly compensated data, the production of MARSIS images at higher resolution. In this way it is possible to detect hidden interfaces never seen before due to MARSIS coarse vertical resolution.

Keywords

Mars; astronomical instruments; astronomical techniques; planetary atmospheres; remote sensing by radar; signal processing; ESA; Faraday rotation; MARSIS experiment; MARSIS operation; MARSIS range resolution; Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding; Mars Express mission payload; altimeter; attenuation; ionosphere compensation; low frequency pulse limited radar sounder; phase distortion; stepped frequency processing algorithm; Bandwidth; Chirp; Ionosphere; Mars; Plasmas; Radar; Signal resolution; Chirp; Ground penetrating radar; Ionosphere; Mars; Signal processing algorithms;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microwaves, Radar and Remote Sensing Symposium (MRRS), 2011

Conference_Location

Kiev

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-9641-9

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MRRS.2011.6053622

Filename

6053622