The subsurface penetrating radar on the rover of China's Mars 2020 mission

Abstract

China's Mars probe including an orbiter and a landing rover will be launched by 2020. A subsurface penetrating radar (SPR) instrument has been selected to be a part of the payload on the rover. The main scientific objective of the SPR is to characterize the thickness and sub-layer distribution of the Martian soil. The SPR consists of two channels. The low frequency channel of the SPR will provide a penetration depth of 10 to 100 meters with a resolution of a few meters within the Martian soil. The higher frequency channel will penetrate to a depth of 3 to 10 meters with a resolution of a few centimeters within the Martian soil. The SPR first version prototype was designed and some field tests have been conducted with it.