Citation
Abstract
This white paper describes a new ground-based planetary radar capability, implemented as an array of antennas. The motivations for ground-based planetary radar are multiple, but this white paper takes the observations of asteroids as a driving case. This choice reflects the importance of ground-based planetary radar observations in the detection, tracking, and characterization of near-Earth asteroids, which is identified as one of NASA’s key roles in the National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan. The system architecture of a planetary radar array consists of four major subsystems—the array element, of which the antenna is a major component; the signal processing; array services and infrastructure; and operations computing and software. Each of these major subsystems is described briefly, with references to previous implementations or analog systems. A life-cycle cost model is presented, which includes a contribution from the operations cost. This life-cycle cost model has multiple parameters, including antenna diameter, the transmit power at each antenna, and the number of antennas. We perform a tradespace exploration to find optimal design points, with a design goal of meeting the previous capability of the Arecibo Observatory’s planetary radar. A strength of this architecture is that it is scalable, so that improved capabilities could be realized.
Keywords
Details
- Volume
- 42-229
- Published
- May 15, 2022
- Pages
- 1–31
- File Size
- 22.0 MB