Radar sounder instruments orbiting Mars have looked beneath the Martian surface and opened up the third dimension for planetary exploration. The technique's success is prompting scientists to think of all the other places in the Solar System where they would like to use radar sounders.
The first radar sounder at Mars was the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) on the European Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter. It has been joined by the complementary Shallow Subsurface Radar (SHARAD), operating at a different wavelength aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The data in this animation are from SHARAD.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Mars | |
System | ||
Target Type | Planet | |
Mission | Mars Express (MEX) | Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) |
Instrument Host | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | Mars Express, Mars Express Orbiter |
Host Type | Orbiter | |
Instrument | Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) | Shallow Subsurface Radar (SHARAD) |
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Grayscale, Movie, Radar | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2008-04-17 | |
Date in Caption | ||
Image Credit | NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/University of Rome/Washington University in St. Louis | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10376 | |
Identifier | PIA10376 |