The Mars express MARSIS sounder instrument

Abstract

The Mars advanced radar for subsurface and ionospheric sounding (MARSIS) on Mars Express is the first high-frequency sounding radar operating from orbital altitudes since the Apollo 17 Lunar Sounder flown in 1972. The radar operates from a highly elliptical orbit but acquires data only from altitudes lower than 1200 km. The periapsis altitude is 250 km. This radar has been succesfully operating since August 2005. The radar is a dual channel low-frequency sounder, operates between 1.3 and 5.5 MHz (MegaHertz) with wavelengths between 230 and 55 m in free space for subsurface sounding and between 0.1 and 5.5 MHz (wavelengths between 3000 and 55 m) for ionospheric sounding. The subsurface sounder can operate at one or two-frequency bands out of four available bands at either like or cross polarization. The subsurface sounding radar transmits radio frequency (RF) pulses of 250 μs duration through a 40 m dipole antenna. The return echoes are then converted to digital form and temporarily stored on board for some digital processing. A second antenna, a monopole, provides reception for the cross-polarized return and its data are processed by a second channel. This processing reduces the data rate produced by the instrument to rates allowed by the spacecraft communications channel. These processed returns are then sent to Earth by the telecommunications system on the spacecraft. The advances in digital data acquisition and processing, since 1972, have enabled this technique to be used in a compact spacecraft science instrument.. This sounder has obtained returns from several kilometers below the surface of the Mars. The ionospheric sounder operates at altitudes greater than 800 km in a mode that sweeps the entire 0.1-5.5 MHz range. During ionospheric sounding, the transmitter sends a 91 μs tone at 127 pulses per second rate. The frequency sweep takes 7.3 s to complete the 0.1-5.5 MHz range. Operational aspects of the instrument are described, including the selection of frequency bands and receive antenna selection, which are based on the expected solar zenith angle. The process of data take planning as well as data archiving are described. Results of both subsurface and ionospheric sounding are presented.