Influence of the ionospheric plasma density fluctuations on the subsurface sounding of the Martian soil by a synthetic aperture radar

Abstract

We consider the problem of subsurface sounding of the planetary interior with an ultrawideband synthetic aperture radar through the ionosphere containing random density fluctuations. Numerical simulation is performed for a variety of typical parameters of the medium and the instrument. The impact of the ionospheric fluctuations on the sounding is estimated. The question of optimal choice of the synthetic aperture length is addressed. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.