T. Joseph W. Lazio, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Dimitrios Antsos, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Anthony Beasley, National Radio Astronomy Observatory; Lance A. M. Benner, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Andrew Brooks, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Marina Brozovic, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Philip G. Edwards, CSIRO Space & Astronomy; Jon D. Giorgini, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Shinji Horiuchi, CSIRO Space & Astronomy; Ed Kruzins, UNSW Canberra Space, and CSIRO Space & Autonomy; Clement Lee, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Ronglin R. Liou, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Blake Molyneux, Australia National University; Shantanu P. Naidu, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Charles Naudet, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Ryan S. Park, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Chris J. Phillips, CSIRO Space & Astronomy; Marc Sanchez Net, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; J. Stevens, CSIRO Space & Astronomy; Mark Taylor, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; Victor Vilnrotter, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Keywords: cislunar, radar, array, asteroid, SSA/SDA
Abstract:
Ground-based planetary radars are used to conduct a variety of scientific observations of natural bodies across the Solar System,
with a recent focus on near-Earth asteroids. The planetary science focus on near-Earth asteroids includes aspects of planetary
defense, determining their orbits and characterizing their properties to assess the risks of impact. Some of these
asteroids can approach within 1~lunar distance with sizes of order 10 m and radar cross sections that are 10% of their geometrical sizes. While the primary focus of ground-based planetary radars has been scientific, they also have been utilized for safety and mission assurance of high-value assets in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and to help in the recovery of spacecraft.
With an increasing focus on the cislunar arena, the utilization of the existing suite of ground-based planetary radars could be extended to that domain as well. In contrast to the typical asteroid observation, which is conducted in directions well separated from that of the Moon, cislunar radar observations have to account for the radiated emissions from the Moon. We describe a set of “use cases” that capture the range of potential observations that could be conducted and provide illustrations of capability. Further, we distinguish carefully between detection and tracking, which depend upon the extent to which an object’s ephemeris is known.
We illustrate the system design for a future planetary radar capability that is based on an array of smaller antennas that would recover the international capabilities that were lost in the collapse of the Arecibo Observatory in 2020. A new planetary radar array composed of dozens of small-diameter antennas could be dedicated to planetary science and planetary defense. It would be naturally scalable in capability, but also degrading gracefully. Further, there has been substantial recent progress toward producing large number of antennas with diameters of 15 m to 18 m and demonstrating the feasibility of kilowatt-level solid-state transmitters and amplifiers that could be used in such an array.
Date of Conference: September 27-20, 2022
Track: Optical Systems & Instrumentation