Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
8142340 Planetary and Space Science 2018 17 Pages PDF
Abstract
The results show that radar sounding of lava tubes is feasible with good performance margins in terms of signal-to-noise and signal-to-clutter ratio, and that a dual-frequency radar sounder would be able to detect the majority of lunar lava tubes based on their potential dimension with some limitations for very small lava tubes having width smaller than 250 m. The electromagnetic simulations show that lava tubes display an unique signature characterized by a signal phase inversion on the roof echo. The analysis is provided for different acquisition geometries with respect to the position of the sounded lava tube. This analysis confirms that orbiting multi-frequency radar sounder can detect and map in a reliable and unambiguous way the majority of Moon lava tubes.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Geophysics
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