Radar designs for the DESDynI mission

Abstract

The interferometric radar (InSAR) design has undergone several iterations in the years that this mission has been under consideration. In the most recent proposal the InSAR is combined with a Lidar and the mission is called Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice (DESDynI). This spacecraft would be in a near-polar orbit around the Earth and repeatedly collect data to monitor changes in the solid Earth, vegetation, and ice. The radar is a repeat pass interferometric SAR with dual and quad polarization capability. This paper examines the state of the configuration of the radar including a “SweepSAR” method that has been incorporated as the present baseline.