SHARAD's View of Mars During a 'Very Large Roll'
This radargram shows data collected by the Shallow Radar, or SHARAD, on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on May 2, 2023, as it performed a 120-degree roll maneuver called a "very large roll" over a formation named Medusae Fossae. Scientists used SHARAD to look for ice beneath the surface of this region.
Figure A is a radargram of the same region studied by SHARAD while MRO performed a standard 28-degree roll on Sept. 5, 2023. In contrast, the 120-degree very large roll produced a radargram that is much brighter – indicating the increased strength of the reflected radio waves – and the data shows more subsurface details.
Designed to peer from about a half-mile to a little over a mile (1 to 2 kilometers) below ground, SHARAD emits radio waves that are reflected off materials in the subsurface, measuring how long it takes for those waves to bounce back to the instrument. The longer it takes, the deeper the subsurface layer is. Because different materials reflect radio waves differently, SHARAD allows scientists to distinguish between rock, sand, and ice.
While MRO often performs a standard 28-degree roll to give SHARAD's antenna a more direct view of Martian terrain, the 120-degree very large roll rotates the antenna even farther, providing its radio waves an unobstructed path to the surface. This boosts the radar's signals by 10 times or more, giving SHARAD a clearer, deeper view of the Martian underground than ever before. Scientists hope the very large rolls will help them look for frozen and liquid water, among other things.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages MRO for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of the Mars Exploration Program portfolio. The SHARAD instrument was provided by the Italian Space Agency. Its operations are led by Sapienza University of Rome, and its data are analyzed by a joint U.S.-Italian science team. The Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, leads U.S. involvement in SHARAD. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built MRO and supports its operations.
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