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Lunar Radar Mapping Technique

S. R. Pavlov, Yu. S. Bondarenko, D. A. Marshalov

Transactions of IAA RAS, issue 67, 3–7 (2023)

Keywords: Moon, radar mapping, coordinate transformation

Abstract

Radar is one of the most effective methods of ground-based remote study of the Moon, allowing one to obtain images of its surface with a spatial resolution that is not achievable by ground-based measuring instruments at other wavelengths. This method consists of illuminating the Moon with a radar signal, receiving the reflected signal (echo) and analyzing its characteristics. At the same time, the resolution of the radar system does not depend on the earth’s atmosphere and the distance to the target but is determined by the characteristics of the transmitted signal. The radar image is formed in a coordinate system that relates the Doppler frequency shift to the delay in arrival of the echo signal resulting from the movement of the transmitting and receiving antenna systems relative to the target. For the practical use of images obtained in this way, it is necessary to link radar images to selenographic coordinates. This paper proposes a numerical method for converting time delay and frequency of the echo to selenographic latitude and longitude. The values of latitude and longitude at any point in the radar image are calculated on a grid of nodes by interpolation with planes, which are constructed from three adjacent nodes forming triangles. Triangulation of the node grid is performed using the Delaunay method, so that the deviation of the interpolated values within the triangles is minimal. The technique was applied to a radar image of the Tycho crater region at a wavelength of 4.2 cm. The resulting radar map covers an area on the lunar surface approximately 30 degrees in longitude and 25 degrees in latitude, corresponding to 600 by 600 km with an average spatial resolution of 120 m. The paper evaluates the accuracy of the resulting map and compares it with the optical image. High-resolution radar maps of the lunar surface obtained using the method proposed in this work can be useful for studying the geological history of the Moon, exploration and mining of minerals, and selection of safe landing sites, especially in connection with the increased interest of many countries in the exploration of the Moon.

Citation

Text

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RIS

S. R. Pavlov, Yu. S. Bondarenko, D. A. Marshalov. Lunar Radar Mapping Technique // Transactions of IAA RAS. — 2023. — Issue 67. — P. 3–7.

@article{pavlov2023,
  abstract = {Radar is one of the most effective methods of ground-based remote study of the Moon, allowing one to obtain images of its surface with a spatial resolution that is not achievable by ground-based measuring instruments at other wavelengths. This method consists of illuminating the Moon with a radar signal, receiving the reflected signal (echo) and analyzing its characteristics. At the same time, the resolution of the radar system does not depend on the earth’s atmosphere and the distance to the target but is determined by the characteristics of the transmitted signal. The radar image is formed in a coordinate system that relates the Doppler frequency shift to the delay in arrival of the echo signal resulting from the movement of the transmitting and receiving antenna systems relative to the target. For the practical use of images obtained in this way, it is necessary to link radar images to selenographic coordinates.
This paper proposes a numerical method for converting time delay and frequency of the echo to selenographic latitude and longitude. The values of latitude and longitude at any point in the radar image are calculated on a grid of nodes by interpolation with planes, which are constructed from three adjacent nodes forming triangles. Triangulation of the node grid is performed using the Delaunay method, so that the deviation of the interpolated values within the triangles is minimal.
The technique was applied to a radar image of the Tycho crater region at a wavelength of 4.2 cm. The resulting radar map covers an area on the lunar surface approximately 30 degrees in longitude and 25 degrees in latitude, corresponding to 600 by 600 km with an average spatial resolution of 120 m. The paper evaluates the accuracy of the resulting map and compares it with the optical image. High-resolution radar maps of the lunar surface obtained using the method proposed in this work can be useful for studying the geological history of the Moon, exploration and mining of minerals, and selection of safe landing sites, especially in connection with the increased interest of many countries in the exploration of the Moon.},
  author = {S.~R. Pavlov and Yu.~S. Bondarenko and D.~A. Marshalov},
  doi = {10.32876/ApplAstron.67.3-7},
  issue = {67},
  journal = {Transactions of IAA RAS},
  keyword = {Moon, radar mapping, coordinate transformation},
  pages = {3--7},
  title = {Lunar Radar Mapping Technique},
  url = {http://iaaras.ru/en/library/paper/2164/},
  year = {2023}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Lunar Radar Mapping Technique
AU  - Pavlov, S. R.
AU  - Bondarenko, Yu. S.
AU  - Marshalov, D. A.
PY  - 2023
T2  - Transactions of IAA RAS
IS  - 67
SP  - 3
AB  - Radar is one of the most effective methods of ground-based remote
study of the Moon, allowing one to obtain images of its surface with
a spatial resolution that is not achievable by ground-based measuring
instruments at other wavelengths. This method consists of
illuminating the Moon with a radar signal, receiving the reflected
signal (echo) and analyzing its characteristics. At the same time,
the resolution of the radar system does not depend on the earth’s
atmosphere and the distance to the target but is determined by the
characteristics of the transmitted signal. The radar image is formed
in a coordinate system that relates the Doppler frequency shift to
the delay in arrival of the echo signal resulting from the movement
of the transmitting and receiving antenna systems relative to the
target. For the practical use of images obtained in this way, it is
necessary to link radar images to selenographic coordinates.  This
paper proposes a numerical method for converting time delay and
frequency of the echo to selenographic latitude and longitude. The
values of latitude and longitude at any point in the radar image are
calculated on a grid of nodes by interpolation with planes, which are
constructed from three adjacent nodes forming triangles.
Triangulation of the node grid is performed using the Delaunay
method, so that the deviation of the interpolated values within the
triangles is minimal.  The technique was applied to a radar image of
the Tycho crater region at a wavelength of 4.2 cm. The resulting
radar map covers an area on the lunar surface approximately 30
degrees in longitude and 25 degrees in latitude, corresponding to 600
by 600 km with an average spatial resolution of 120 m. The paper
evaluates the accuracy of the resulting map and compares it with the
optical image. High-resolution radar maps of the lunar surface
obtained using the method proposed in this work can be useful for
studying the geological history of the Moon, exploration and mining
of minerals, and selection of safe landing sites, especially in
connection with the increased interest of many countries in the
exploration of the Moon.
DO  - 10.32876/ApplAstron.67.3-7
UR  - http://iaaras.ru/en/library/paper/2164/
ER  -