Chang'E 3 Special Issue

Performance evaluation of lunar penetrating radar onboard the rover of CE-3 probe based on results from ground experiments

Hong-Bo Zhang, Lei Zheng, Yan Su, Guang-You Fang, Bin Zhou, Jian-Qing Feng, Shu-Guo Xing, Shun Dai, Jun-Duo Li, Yi-Cai Ji, Yun-Ze Gao, Yuan Xiao, Chun-Lai Li

Abstract

Abstract Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) onboard the rover that is part of the Chang’e-3 (CE-3) mission was firstly utilized to obtain in situ measurements about geological structure on the lunar surface and the thickness of the lunar regolith, which are key elements for studying the evolutional history of lunar crust. Because penetration depth and resolution of LPR are related to the scientific objectives of this mission, a series of ground-based experiments using LPR was carried out, and results of the experimental data were obtained in a glacial area located in the northwest region of China. The results show that the penetration depth of the first channel antenna used for LPR is over 79 m with a resolution of 2.8 m, and that for the second channel antenna is over 50.8 m with a resolution of 17.1 cm.

Keywords

Keywords Moon — techniques: radar astronomy — methods: analytical

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