G. Picardi et al., THE RADAR SYSTEM FOR THE EXPLORATION OF TITAN, Nuovo cimento della Societa italiana di fisica. C, Geophysics and space physics, 15(6), 1992, pp. 1149-1161
In the field of the exploration of the Solar System NASA and ESA have
jointly planned two cornerstone missions whose aim is the close observ
ation of two largely unknown planetary bodies: Titan (Cassini mission)
and comet nuclei (Rosetta mission). Our attention in this paper will
be devoted to the first one, however some results of this study can be
applied also to the second one. Titan is one of Saturn's moons and is
characterized by the presence of a dense atmosphere, opaque for optic
al sensors. Therefore radar data are the only ones at least theoretica
lly capable of giving relatively detailed informations about the geomo
rphologic structure of Titan. As a matter of fact the radar cross-sect
ion depends on both the dielectric constant of the target by means of
the Fresnel reflectivity and on its surface roughness. Moreover if the
attenuation is sufficiently low, the radar in principle could be able
to detect subsurface discontinuities as well. The above consideration
s hold true only if a well-suited analytical model accounting for surf
ace backscattering is known. All throughout this paper the radar cross
-section of planetary bodies will be evaluated in the case of high-res
olution radars.