Comments on: Mini-SAR nears completion of its first mapping cycle http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/2009/03/29/mini-sar-nears-completion-of-its-first-mapping-cycle/ The Once and Future Moon Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:38:02 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Paul D. Spudis http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/2009/03/29/mini-sar-nears-completion-of-its-first-mapping-cycle/comment-page-1/#comment-765 Paul D. Spudis Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:40:26 +0000 http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/?p=236#comment-765 Nels, In principle, no. But in the 1960's, we didn't understand planetary radar very well and its use to probe the geological deposits of planetary bodies, or even of the Earth, had not yet achieved any significant level of insight. It's not just getting the radar data -- it's having the intellectual background to understand what it's telling you that was required, a state not fully reached even today. Nels,

In principle, no. But in the 1960’s, we didn’t understand planetary radar very well and its use to probe the geological deposits of planetary bodies, or even of the Earth, had not yet achieved any significant level of insight. It’s not just getting the radar data — it’s having the intellectual background to understand what it’s telling you that was required, a state not fully reached even today.

]]> By: Nels Anderson http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/2009/03/29/mini-sar-nears-completion-of-its-first-mapping-cycle/comment-page-1/#comment-763 Nels Anderson Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:27:15 +0000 http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/?p=236#comment-763 A historical question: is there any reason that bi-static radar of the moon's polar regions could not have been done way back in the 60s by those Lunar Orbiters which flew to polar orbits? Might they have produced the same evidence for lunar water eventually provided by later spacecraft? I know that b-static radar was done be at least on Lunar Orbiter in an equatorial orbit. A historical question: is there any reason that bi-static radar of the moon’s polar regions could not have been done way back in the 60s by those Lunar Orbiters which flew to polar orbits? Might they have produced the same evidence for lunar water eventually provided by later spacecraft? I know that b-static radar was done be at least on Lunar Orbiter in an equatorial orbit.

]]> By: Nature’s race for the Moon « fri.ee http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/2009/03/29/mini-sar-nears-completion-of-its-first-mapping-cycle/comment-page-1/#comment-645 Nature’s race for the Moon « fri.ee Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:08:06 +0000 http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/?p=236#comment-645 [...] Only last year SSTL’s onboard computer (OBC) was spurred into action to control the Mini-SAR onboard the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter in the search for water-ice on the Moon. [...] [...] Only last year SSTL’s onboard computer (OBC) was spurred into action to control the Mini-SAR onboard the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter in the search for water-ice on the Moon. [...]

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