NASA L-SAR instrument for the NISAR (NASA-ISRO) Synthetic Aperture Radar mission

James P. Hoffman; Scott Shaffer; Dragana Perkovic-Martin

doi:10.1117/12.2228489

2 May 2016 NASA L-SAR instrument for the NISAR (NASA-ISRO) Synthetic Aperture Radar mission

James P. Hoffman, Scott Shaffer, Dragana Perkovic-Martin

Proceedings Volume 9881, Earth Observing Missions and Sensors: Development, Implementation, and Characterization IV; 988108 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2228489
Event: SPIE Asia-Pacific Remote Sensing, 2016, New Delhi, India

Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have partnered to develop an Earth-orbiting science and applications mission that exploits synthetic aperture radar to map Earth’s surface every 12 days or less. To meet demanding coverage, sampling, and accuracy requirements, the system was designed to achieve over 240 km swath at fine resolution, and using full polarimetry where needed. To address the broad range of disciplines and scientific study areas of the mission, a dual-frequency system was conceived, at L-band (24 cm wavelength) and S-band (10 cm wavelength). To achieve these observational characteristics, a reflector-feed system is considered, whereby the feed aperture elements are individually sampled to allow a scan-on-receive ("SweepSAR") capability at both L-band and S-band. The instrument leverages the expanding capabilities of on-board digital processing to enable real-time calibration and digital beamforming. This paper describes the mission characteristics, current status of the L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (L-SAR) portion of the instrument, and the technology development efforts in the United States that are reducing risk on the key radar technologies needed to ensure proper SweepSAR operations.

Citation Download Citation

James P. Hoffman, Scott Shaffer, and Dragana Perkovic-Martin "NASA L-SAR instrument for the NISAR (NASA-ISRO) Synthetic Aperture Radar mission", Proc. SPIE 9881, Earth Observing Missions and Sensors: Development, Implementation, and Characterization IV, 988108 (2 May 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2228489

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