Altimetry in the Cassini Mission

Author

Borgarelli, L. ; Picardi, G. ; Seu, R. ; Faustini, E. Zampolini

Author_Institution

Alenia Spazio S.p.A., Rome, Italy

Volume

2

fYear

34881

fDate

10-14 Jul1995

Firstpage

1598

Abstract

The main purpose of the Cassini Mission is the investigation of the geomorphologic structure of Titan, the most interesting moon of the Saturnian system. Titan is completely covered by a dense atmosphere that prevents optical observation. A spacecraft will be launched toward Saturn in 1997. The spacecraft will be equipped with microwave instruments. A multimode radar is one of these instruments and it may operate in altimeter mode. This paper deals with an overview of the design and performance of the altimeter and discusses some different scattering models and their application in the different operative modes of the Cassini altimeter

Keywords

Saturn; astronomical instruments; planetary satellites; planetary surfaces; radioastronomical techniques; radiotelescopes; space research; spaceborne radar; Cassini Mission; Saturn; Titan; altimeter mode; microwave instrument; multimode radar; planetary satellite surface; radar altimetry; radiotelescope; spacecraft instrumentation; Altimetry; Atmosphere; Bandwidth; Decision support systems; Electronic switching systems; Instruments; Moon; Optical scattering; Pulse amplifiers; Pulse modulation; Radar; Radar scattering; Radio frequency; Saturn; Signal generators; Space vehicles; Testing;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 1995. IGARSS '95. 'Quantitative Remote Sensing for Science and Applications', International

Conference_Location

Firenze

Print_ISBN

0-7803-2567-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IGARSS.1995.521820

Filename

521820